Humanity is a Choice
by TeenDistortion
Summary: This is Hayley's story as she tries to survive in a world that's slowly becoming inhabited by the Walking Dead. Hayley is a 20-odd year old widow who's been truly alone in the world, up until now - she needs people more than she'd like to. How will she manage? Who will she meet? Reviews are much appreciated!
1. Prologue

It's funny how fast things change. How a home you spent years living in is left and abandoned, never to be returned to again. How, no matter how hard you try, you can never keep the promises you make to your family. You can never guarantee that you can keep them safe, and there will come a time when they won't be there to keep safe anymore. Everything dies eventually - whether it's a bouquet of flowers left on a bedside table or an old friend you've known your whole life. Nothing lasts forever, and it's important to remember that. Because although the pain you experience trying to survive in this world seems like it'll last forever, it won't. You have your time to die, and it can never be predicted, and can never be stopped. Just embrace the imminent fact that you'll die and get to leave this god-forsaken planet sooner or later. That is, unless you turn.


	2. Chapter 1

Nobody really seemed to notice the strange news reports from foreign countries trickling into the newspapers or onto our television screens. Who would, right? The minute I hear a country with more than five syllables in it's name, I completely zone out and carry on with what I was doing beforehand. It's not like it was anything important any way - just another pandemic like Swine Flu; some people will get it but it's not like it'll ruin us, and it'll be gone soon enough. But as the weeks wore on, the news became more and more full of bizarre stories, and they were getting closer to home. We were seeing more and more of the armed forces going through towns, and people in hospital weren't allowed to be visited anymore. That was what got me worried - when I recieved a phone call from the hospital telling me I couldn't visit my aunt anymore. The phone startled me when it rang, and I didn't get a chance to recover from it before I was told the news.  
"What do you mean, I can't see her? What's going on?" I asked, getting concerned. I knew hospitals were strict on outbreaks and people visiting, but surely they could just get stricter with hygiene?  
"I'm afraid the hospital is no longer accepting visitors in any of the wards whatsoever. People are getting very worried about the outbreak in France and it's only a matter of time before it gets here." the receptionist woman replied. She didn't sound very sympathetic at all - I could hear her playing with the phone wire, and her voice just confirmed the fact she'd had to say the same thing over and over to hundreds of people.  
"But we're miles away! And it's not like it's anything serious! What could possibly be that bad that we have to stop visiting the sick?" I yelled.  
"We haven't got the details yet, but it's not a matter to be taken lightly." she responded.  
"Yeah well neither is this. What, are the staff not allowed to see the patients either? Are you just going to abandon them?"  
There was a silence, and then the phone hung up.

Ever since then, I decided it was time to pay attention to the news and find out what was going on. They didn't seem to want to give away much about what was going on, so I practically got no help whatsoever and had to prepare for the worst. It took me three days to pack and find essentials for travelling, find a gas station with enough gas to last me as long as possible and get going. I thought about visiting the hospital one last time, to say goodbye to my aunt and wish everyone well, but when I drove past the hospital I saw that the whole place was covered in army vehicles and all of the doors were barracaded. I thought to myself that there was no way in - or out.  
I started to walk towards the main entrance of the building, but was soon pushed away by an important looking man a bit too forcefully for my liking.  
"What's going on? I need to get in there." I asked.  
"I can't allow that, Miss."  
"Mrs, actually," I snapped, showing him my wedding ring. Just because my husband was dead didn't mean I was no longer a 'Mrs'. "I need to see a relative, she's really sick."  
"I'm afraid no visitors are allowed. Are you sure she hasn't gone home?"  
"What do you mean, gone home? She can't, she's bed-bound and she has nowhere to go. Why would people have gone home? What's going on in there?" I was panicking, and he could hear it in my voice.  
Before he had the chance to answer, I heard someone running and throw themself against the door of the hospital. I looked over and saw nothing but a person being dragged back into the hospital by a man in black.  
"Now, I think it's best you leave. You don't want to go in there."  
And he was right, I didn't. I wanted to say something more, but I couldn't think of what so I just ran back towards my car, and as I closed my door, I could have sworn I heard a gun being shot.


	3. Chapter 2

I tried my best to drive straight and as normally as possible, but I simply couldn't. Tears were welling up in my eyes and I could see a long line of cars forming behind me, all with bags and coolers and cases tied to the top. I drove down the street where I used to live with my parents and saw neighbours packing their cars and empty houses, doors wide open. I had no idea what was happening but I didn't want to stick around to find out, so I sped up and drove down the road as fast as I could, trying to figure out what to do. Where would I go? Who would I see? The only people I could think of finding were my friends, and they all had families of their own they'd be taking care of. My dad had passed away a few years ago and my mum was on a cruise with her new husband, so they were out of the question. My husband Michael had died while fighting in the army a few years ago, and seeing as neither of us had any siblings or children of our own, it left me well and truly alone. I pulled over to the side of the road and sat in silence for a while, realising how lonely I really was. Things had been like this for a while, but I didn't think about it much during my daily routine because I busied myself with other things so as to avoid the thought of it. But now, I had nothing else to think about other than what I was going to do with myself.

I drove for a few more hours until it got dark. I didn't want to waste my fuel stuck in traffic so I tried my best to stay off of main roads that were sure to be blocked, and pulled over in what seemed like the middle of nowhere to sleep. After spending countless nights alone in the dark before, I wasn't too scared, though the new atmosphere of sleeping in a cramped car was different. I had the radio to listen to in case the silence got too much, and I'd remembered to pack a few books and my photo albums to keep my company, so I thought I'd be fine. I turned the engine off my car, climbed to the back and tried to get comfy despite the seatbelt digging into my hip, and after about half an hour of using a flashlight to read I finally got to sleep.

I tossed and turned throughout the night and slept badly, waking up every so often and having to lie awake for hours at a time trying to get back to sleep. At about five in the morning I woke up when I heard something against the door. I couldn't see lights outside and I was pretty sure no one could see I was inside the car because of how dark it was, so I tried to be as quite as possible. I looked through the window and saw someone's dirty hand scrabbling against it, and I held my breath as I saw the trail of blood it left behind on my window. Whoever it was made a strange noise, as if they couldn't quite breathe right, and they seemed to be speaking to themself. I didn't quite know what to do then, I was terrified but worried at the same time. Who was this person, and what was wrong with them? Should I help them, or would they be dangerous? I needed to take a better look at them, but there was no way I was getting out of the car and I didn't want them to see me either although I was fairly sure they knew I was in there somehow anyway. Grabbing my flashlight, I crawled across to the front seat sticking as close to the floor as possible, and sat down as low as I could. I tried to peer through the mirrors but it didn't help, and I decided my only option was to drive down the road and turn around again to see them. I took a deep breath and turned on the engine, and saw the person stand upright and throw themself onto the car, practically roaring at me like an animal. I screamed and drove off as fast as I could, determined to keep going and not turn around to get another look at that bloodstained freak.


	4. Chapter 3

Some people would think I was a bad person for driving away, that I should've helped the poor girl, but who would have? How many people would let a disembodied kid into the back of their car with no idea who she was or what had happened to her and take her somewhere with them? Not many, I'm sure. I wasn't going to risk my life for some stranger that scared the crap out of me. It hadn't occured to me when packing that I should've brought any weapons but now I realised my mistake. I didn't know if that girl had got the disease everyone was freaking out about, but I didn't want to investigate further into the matter, nosiree. I drove for miles until I found a small town I'd never heard of, and then pulled up at the gas station.

There didn't seem to be anyone around so I helped myself filling up my tank and then walked into the store to pay and pick up some stuff. A bell rang as I opened the door and I heard the click of a gun from the other end of the room.  
"Say somethin'." the man yelled at me.  
"Um," I stammered, not sure how to react.  
"Well say somethin god'dammit!"  
I was shaking so much I dropped my purse, and I stood watching as the coins bounced around onto the floor. "I-I'm sorry Sir, I just needed some gas and this was the first place I found."  
"Well then Missy, I suggest you take your gas and find somewhere else. It's not safe around here." He didn't sound as vicious as he did before, but he still held the gun at me.  
"Yes, I plan to Sir. Thankyou?" I walked towards him and went to hand him my money, but he batted it away from me.  
"I don't need that fool, money's useless now. Just take what you want and go."  
I wasn't sure what to do, in case it was a trick, so I stood still.  
"Well what're you waiting for? Just take whatever and leave this place!" he demanded, starting to get angry again. I stepped forward and looked around, trying to figure out what I actually wanted. I scurried towards the drinks and grabbed as many bottles of water as I could, as well as some boxes of cereal and tins of food and then I shoved them all into a bag as quickly as possible. I stopped again for a second, unsure of what to do next.  
"Are you done?" he asked.  
"I-I, yeah I think so I was just wondering," I began, scared to ask him for more. "If I could get some more gas and fill up some canisters. You know, for the road. I don't know if I'll find another man as, uh, welcoming as you."  
"Do whatever, and just go. Prepare yourself. You're the first.. person that I've seen for a while now."

I walked back to my car, his words burning into my mind. 'Prepare yourself'. For what? I knew home wasn't safe but I really had no idea where to go, or what I was up against. I filled up some containers with gas and watched as man walked oddly into the store, and thought nothing of it until I heard a gunshot. The guy I'd spoke to earlier ran out of the store and up to me, shouting at me to "Leave already" and "Get outta here!". He looked terrified and he was turning round to see in every direction. I got into my car and turned on the engine, looking at all of the stuff I'd just got sat on my back seat.  
"Do you want to come with me?" I asked randomly. I didn't know if I wanted him to, but he didn't seem to have anywhere but here.  
"No just go on, leave! This place isn't for you!" He shot again, and I took the hint and drove off, leaving the man behind.

It was ridiculous, my mind was blank. After all that had happened - the encounter with the man, the raid of the store, the monster outside of my car in the middle of the night - I still didn't have any idea what to do. The guy in the store was the first person I'd seen for what felt like forever, and I was determined not to forget his random act of 'kindness' no matter how things end up. Although he didn't seem like the type of person I'd get along with, I had to admit I'd have preferred him to come along with me. He seemed to have a much better idea of what was going on than I did, and he knew how to use a gun. Potentially, he'd saved my life - whatever it was that went into the store after me could've turned on me, and all the supplies he let me have would surely help me in the long run. I only wish I'd got his name so I could thank him properly, and maybe contact him later. But it was too late - I was already miles away, speeding down the freeway.

The amount of cars piled up was fascinating, much worse than I had ever imagined. The road was completely blocked and there was no way through except on foot, and no way was that an option for me. The road was completely silent and nobody seemed to be around, so I considered getting out just for a look. I wasn't ecstatic about the idea of stepping outside of my car (or mobile home, I should probably refer to it as), but I knew it was something I had to do. I put my hand on the handle of the door and was about to open it when I changed my mind. All the cars must have been there for a reason - to escape somewhere maybe, but why were they still there? There wasn't a building around for miles, and I couldn't decipher why anyone would want to camp out in the forest on the outskirts. Where was everyone?


	5. Chapter 4

I sat in my car wondering for what felt like hours. It was a bad idea staying so long; it was beginning to get dark and I was in desperate need of the bathroom. But there wasn't a bathroom, and the only option I had was to go outside. I'd been holding it in for so long I walked outside without a second thought, and was halfway down towards the woods when I heard an approaching car. I dropped down to the floor and hid behind a bush to see what was going on. 2 men emerged from the car, holding bloody baseball bats and what looked like an axe.

"What the hell has happened here? I thought you said they'd be here!"  
"They're probably still waiting in the car man! Stop freaking out at me!"  
"Stop freaking out? Well what else am I supposed to do, huh? My family went off without me because I decided to be a good friend and come back for you, and now I can't find them? What, do you expect me to be _calm?!_"  
"No man but lower your voice! You don't know what's around here!"  
"Well my family obviously isn't! You told me they'd be here you bastard!"  
"Hey just shut up! I thought they'd be here, okay? Why would I lie to you?"  
"I don't know, why would you?"  
Silence.  
"You know what, f**k you man. If you think I'm lying, go ahead, but I know I was tellin' the truth and your family are around here somewhere. We just gotta look for your car, okay? Then we'll find them. Where else could they be?"  
"You can look all you want, it's the least you can do for me, prick."  
One of the guys walked off into the crowd of cars while the other stood and waited, hitting the baseball bat against his palm.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked quietly, walking up to him.  
"Ah, what the hell!" he yelled, lifting his bat and then rethinking what he was doing.  
"No no please, I'm not a threat I promise! I'm just as confused as you are!" I pleaded.  
"Hah, sure. Like there's anything to be confused about anymore." he said, crouching down on to the floor.  
"Well okay, not for you maybe but I have no idea what the hell's going on," I began, glancing over to their blood-covered car. "I'm on my own, and I just need _someone_ to explain what's happening to me."  
"Yeah well I didn't have anyone to explain anything to me, so why should you have that luxury?" he scoffed. I glared at him.  
"Look, guy, whatever your name is, I really don't care if you're sick of being approached by random people. Because I, personally, am sick of driving round by myself trying to figure out where to go, what's going on and why everyone's acting so hostile!" I yelled.  
"Keep your voice down, creep!" he whispered, looking round.  
"What, as if anyone's gonna hear me? We're in the middle of a deserted freeway!"  
He stared blankly at me.  
"You're not alone in this world anymore lady, you know? No matter where you are, what you're doing, there's always someone ready to jump out at you." the other guy said, emerging from the cars. He looked towards his friend and shook his head, sighing. "Sorry man, the chick's right, there's nobody around except for a few biters. I suggest we take whatever's here and leave."  
"Take whatever's here? What, like raid the place? What kind of people are you?!" I asked, horrified at his suggestion.  
"Well what else do you expect us to do, go to a store and pick up some groceries? Nothing's the same any more, don't you see?"  
I understood, but it still didn't feel right.  
"I don't want to watch you do this," I said. "It's just not right."  
"Nothing is right anymore okay? But we have to make do. And no one's making you watch. Who even are you?" I looked at the ground, annoyed, and with that, he walked towards cars and began looting.

After an hour or so, it was even darker and the guy was still raiding people's cars for whatever supplies they had.  
"Andy, are you done yet? I wanna go," the angry guy from earlier said. "You're right, they're not here anymore and there's nothing we can do."  
I looked at my hands, not knowing my place. There wasn't a reply from 'Andy'.  
"..Should I go look for him?" I suggested, not believing the words coming from my mouth.  
The guy scoffed. "Go do what you want, lady. You've got nothing to do with me."  
I stared at the ground and then got up and stormed away towards the cars. I much prefered Andy and I wanted to have a word with him, maybe he'd give me some answers.

I found him stationed by a rusty old Volvo, happily cutting ropes attached to the top of the car with his penknife and with his arms full of cases.  
"Need some help?" I asked awkwardly. He turned and smiled.  
"Na, I'm good thanks, but let Drew know that I'll be back real quick, I just want one more thing." he said. I looked at the car.  
"What is it?"  
"Huh?"  
"What do you want? From the car?"  
"Oh, haha," he chuckled. "You see that there, on the back seat? That there is what looks like a months supply of toilet roll, and the clever bastard that brought it along on his travels won't be needing it anymore." he pointed to the front seat, where I saw a man resting his head on his shoulders.  
"What, you're just gonna take it from him while he's right there?"  
"Sure, it's not like he's gonna want it anymore."  
"You're crazy."  
"No, I'm a genius. Did you think to bring toilet roll?"  
I couldn't remember if I did, but either way I didn't want to take it right infront of the guy. I started to walk back to Drew and got a few dozen metres down the road when I heard a car alarm go off and Andy rushed past me.  
"Run bitch!" he yelled, speeding ahead. "And pick that up!" he added when he dropped a case. Confused, I bent down to pick it up and turned back to see a swarm of people rush towards the Volvo, their hands outstretched and covered in dirt. I wanted to stop and stare, but Andy was running and as far as I was concerned in this situation, Andy knew best. I followed him as fast as I could until we got back to the car.


	6. Chapter 5

"You idiot! You went too far this time!" Drew yelled from their car as he saw us running. "Get in the car and get us back before they catch up!" Andy ran up to the passenger seat and hopped in, slamming the door behind him. I considered joining them in their car but thought better of it and got into mine instead, determined to tag along with these guys until a better alternative came along.  
We drove for ages and after what seemed like forever, they drove into a town I'd never heard. The place looked a wreck - windows were boarded up, doors were blocked and there was litter everywhere. They pulled up infront of a small cottage that seemed to have no entrance and got out of their car. I hadn't realised how long we'd been driving until I saw it was light again.  
"Where are we?" I asked as I got out of my car and joined the two men as they walked around the cottage.  
"None of your business bitch, go home." Drew muttered.  
"Don't be like that Drew. If you want this place to work, we're gonna have to get people together, and so far you're already abusing the only one we've got." Andy said. He turned to look at me. "So how is this gonna work?"  
"How is what going to work?" I yawned, suddenly feeling tired.  
"You and us. The 3 Musketeers. Whatever you want to call it, we have no choice but to stick together now. Knowing people are still alive is great but when they turn you away it sucks, so we need to know you're not going to do that to us."  
"Uh-of course not! What, are you inviting me to.. be with you guys?" I stammered.  
"Well I am, I just don't know about Drew. The last group of people we had with us went off with half of our supplies and the majority of our weapons. Biters aren't the only threat you know."  
I still didn't know what the biters where that they were talking about, but I vowed to Drew that I wouldn't betray them, and said I had my own stuff in my car. Drew told Andy to help me to unload it, and though he was reluctant, he helped me after some persuasion. The situation was awkward but, despite his ignorance, I apologised to him about his family and said I'd do all I could to help, if he just explained to me what was going on.


	7. Chapter 6

Although I'd seen the signs and everything added up, I couldn't quite believe it to be true. Zombies? Really? I guessed that the world was messed up nowadays but zombies? It was so unrealistic I could barely get round it, although I knew it made sense. When Drew had told me I started yelling at him out of fear and disbelief. "What the hell? Zombies? This isn't a freakin' movie Spielberg! They're not real!"  
"Don't get hysterical at me, bitch. It's not even been a day since I found out my family's probably eating brains now and you're yelling at me about it? It's the way it is now! Get over it!" he shouted.  
It's not that I didn't believe it, it's more that I didn't want to believe it. I knew something crazy was going on and I'd just sort of left in a rush, not really paying attention to what was truly happening. But now it had hit me like a ton of bricks, and I realised it was the truth. I thought about his family, my family, everyone I ever knew now a decomposed blood-covered freak festering about the place. And what about my mom? She was on a cruise ship in the middle of nowhere, with plenty of resources to last a lot longer than they needed, but that didn't mean she was going to be safe. There was every chance that a passenger could have died and reanimated and got loads of others. I didn't like to think about it but I couldn't stop myself - what about dead people? Did they come back? I thought about Michael's grave in the cemetery back home, covered by the flowers I left there on Sunday. Could he get out? Would he? My eyes filled with tears and I dropped onto the floor, crying and gasping for air. Drew just looked at me with disgust and I couldn't understand how he was being so calm.  
"Pussy," he said under his breath as he walked away. I cried harder.

It wasn't until Andy found me that I managed to recover from my fit of tears. He crouched down next to me and hovered there awkwardly for a while, just watching me look at the floor. I thought he'd come over to reassure me it was going to be okay, that my mom would be fine and that I wouldn't have to worry about seeing my husband as a freak because he's well and truly dead. But I'd made that all up in my head. The only thing he said to me was,  
"Look, I understand you're upset. It's all a bit much for everyone really, and I know we all handle our problems in different ways but do you think you could please tone it down a bit? Drew over there just lost his family, and that's on me. He's coping pretty well with it and having a depressed woman crying in the corner might ruin his mood. Besides, you're far too noisy, we'll have biters around here soon." I looked at him and he got up and walked away.  
"Pssht," I said to myself, wiping my eyes. "I thought he was the nice one."

After considering my situation and figuring out that the two guys I were with were absolute assholes, I thought about leaving but then realised I couldn't; all my stuff was in their building and they had the keys to my car for some bizarre reason. I sighed and followed them through the garden of the cottage and saw a heavy metal door in the floor.  
"What is this?" I asked unsteadily as I saw Drew climbing out.  
"Our home." he replied coldy, looking down the ladder.  
I peered through the hole and saw how dark and deep it was, and shuddered at the thought of going in.  
"Well come on in then." Andy said a little impatiently as he saw me stood at the top. "Whatever your name is."  
I didn't want to go in, but it was probably the safest option I had. It was better than sleeping in a car, anyway. I climbed down the ladder and jumped off, unsure of where the ladder ended and the floor started. "It's Hayley." I said, annoyed that he hadn't even asked my name yet. "How do we see out?" I asked.  
"We don't." Drew said, slamming the door shut and twisting it. I didn't have the nerve to tell them I was claustrophobic.


	8. Chapter 7

The room slowly lit up as Drew and Andy lighted the candles scattered about the place. I felt like I was in a torture dungeon, a cage, a box. Each time I remembered where I was I felt smaller and smaller, and my breathing got faster and faster.  
"What's up with her?" Andy asked Drew as he noticed me practically hyperventaliting.  
"I'm - claustrophobic-" I gasped.  
"Ha, should've guessed. Told you she was a pussy." Drew grinned.  
"Pussy or no pussy, we need her. As long as she's got a pussy!" Andy joked. They both laughed. I glared at them.  
"What are you - trying to - do here?" I said as angrily as I could manage without passing out.  
"Woah, alright Stevie! What do you mean?" Andy said.  
"Why do you - need me? What is this place?"  
"Oh this? I can tell you about this," Drew began, picking up a candle and placing it next to him. "This is an old war bunker. People used to hide in them incase there were bombs."  
"Why would there be bombs?" I asked, realising how stupid I sounded a little too late.  
"Why wouldn't there be? This world's messed up. Well, maybe a little more messed up now but still."  
"Oh," I sighed. "But why are you here?"  
"Well it's safe, you know?" Andy explained. "No way in."  
"No way out," Drew said under his breath. Andy glared at him.  
"That's not the point. No one can get into here unless we want them to. As long as we keep all our supplies, weapons, whatever we have in here, we should be okay from other people trying to steal our stuff. And so long as the doors locked shut and we're real quiet, no biters should figure out that we're here, let alone break through. I couldn't think of a safer place to be." he said proudly. I didn't want to get him off his high-horse, until I remembered how much of a dick he'd been earlier.  
"Yeah, sure no one can get in, but like Drew said, we can't get out. What would happen if one night we came back and got in here and didn't know biters had followed? What if we closed the door loudly and they all figured out where we were? We'd have no idea they were outside, I mean it's not like we could hear them through this. And if we open up the door, we could get jumped all of a sudden and that'd be the end of it all. We're trapped." I said. There was a silence, and I could feel their eyes burning on me.  
"Well, look who can talk again." Andy muttered, annoyed at the points I'd made. He got up and walked as far away from me as possible at the other end of the bunker, a grand total of 15 meters.

The night pretty much ended then. It was silent for a long while and when I realised a conversation wasn't going to pick up, I settled down to sleep in a fort of blankets brought down from the cars and houses around the area. I'd noticed that the bunker had shelves full of the stuff I'd brought along and a trunk full of clothes that the guys must have brought in. Although it looked like a lot all stacked up, I could tell it wasn't going to last us too long and I didn't want to think about what would happen when we ran out. I considered what I'd said to Andy, about how dangerous it was to be down here incase there were biters about on the ground, and started to feel bad. Although he hadn't been very nice to me earlier, he was probably just trying to keep us all safe, and I was being hysterical which wasn't a good thing. And although I still wasn't convinced this bunker was a good idea, I didn't have a better one, and he genuinely seemed to believe we'd be safe down here. It wasn't right to crush his hopes like that, and I felt bad.  
"Andy!" I whispered in the dark, not wanting to wake everyone up. Well, Drew. I knew he wouldn't be happy to see me first thing in the morning.  
"Andy!" I hissed again. I saw two lumps on the floor but didn't want to shake them awake incase it was the wrong guy.  
"Aaaandddyyyy!" I tried one last time, and cut my call short when I heard a scrambling on the door. I couldn't bear to look - I was sure I was going to die. The only thing I could do was bite my pillow and scream silently.


	9. Chapter 8

"Shutup! Shutup! You'll get biters on us!" Andy said as he hopped down from the ladder and closed the hatch.  
"What were you doing outside in the dark?! Are you crazy?!" I yelled as quietly as possible.  
"I'm not crazy, I'm smart! I just moved the cars from the front of the cottage into the back garden, put them all in place incase we need to leave in a hurry. And there was a garage I busted open with a trailer inside that we can throw all our gear in incase we need to leave!"  
"Well, that's - good I guess, but why did you have to do it now?"  
"What you said earlier, got me thinking. Incase something does go wrong like you think, we'll be able to take a few of them out and then just hop into the cars and escape. It's safe now. Well, safe-r."  
"It's a good plan," I admitted. "But still, why didn't you wait for Drew to help? It would have been easier and quicker - I can't believe you'd put yourself at risk like that!" I was angry, even though he'd given good news.  
"Please, don't be mad at me. I was just trying to help. Besides, it gets better - the garage was full of tools and stuff, and there was a rifle hung up on the wall so I took it! No ammo or anything but still, a gun all the same."  
"Guns? We need guns?" I asked, stating the obvious without realising.  
"Yeah of course! Why, do you have one?"  
"Well no, not here, but I know where we can get some. My husband, he - he was in the army. He had quite a stash in our basement. I never went down there, not after he died, but I kept it all the same. There's plenty there."  
"That's great. Do you think we could go back there?" he asked.  
"S-Sure, I guess. I don't know if it's safe though, it was a huge neighbourhood and I left before the worst hit."  
"The place could be crawling with biters then." he sighed.  
"Well - yeah. But is it worth the risk?"  
"It's gonna have to be. Now get some sleep, we'll sort it out in the morning."


	10. Chapter 9

As expected, when I woke up in the morning I was terrified. I'd forgotten where I was and when I realised, I started freaking out, which woke everyone up.  
"Woah, calm it lady!" Drew yawned as he sat up. "It's okay in here. See?" He seemed happier, and it was creeping me out.  
"What's all this commotion?" Andy said as he rolled over in his mound of blankets.  
"N-nothing," I breathed. "Just freaked myself out a bit."  
"Again." Drew slyly added with a smile. He got stood up and went to the corner of the room, grabbed some fresh clothes from the trunk and started to change. I looked away, embarrassed.  
"Oh, don't mind him," Andy said as he noticed how shy I was being. "He's naked pretty much all the time. When we were in college together, we'd always be down at the beach hoping to score some chicks, and his method was to wear as little as possible. The sad thing is, it _worked._"  
I looked over at him to check him out, but then realised what I was doing and looked back.  
"What's up with him? Why's he in such a good mood?" was all I could say without blushing.  
"Probably had a good dream. He gets those a lot, but all I get is nightmares."  
"Well maybe you should get some more sleep, you were out until late last night."  
"Or early this morning," he said. "Nah, it doesn't matter. I'll survive. Now, how about some breakfast?"

After a few handfuls of cornflakes each and a rummage through the trunk of clothes, we decided to set off and get on with the day. I didn't want to go outside, not now I knew what was out there, but staying in here wasn't very appealing either. Besides, me and Andy had planned to go to my home and get Michael's guns.  
"Sorry there weren't any ladies outfits," Drew said. "This is practically my lot and a few t-shirts left in the back of Andy's car. Although you never know, you might find a bra or two back in there, I wouldn't be suprised!" Andy laughed and punched him on the shoulder.  
"Hey leave off man, that was one time! Anyway, we should be thinking about how we're going to manage today, not about the dirty underwear left in the back of my car." he replied.  
"Well I don't know about you, but today feels like a good day," I smiled. "And once we get those guns it'll be even better."  
"Yeah, it will be. And while we're out, we could probably pick some more stuff up. You know, from the local Walmart or something." Drew suggested. I was liking the new Drew, and I was hoping that his good mood would last for a long time. I didn't like having to live with a moody guy that snapped at me every five seconds, and he actually seemed pretty nice.  
"We could try," Andy said. "But first we need to figure out how to get to her house. Where did you live?"  
"I could direct you there as soon as we get some place familiar. I wasn't paying too much attention when I followed you guys here, but I'm sure that when we hit the road I'll remember the way." I admitted.  
"Well, my car's got a GPS that could take us there. You could just follow us in your car," Andy suggested looking at Drew who seemed as if he disapproved. "..Well actually, yeah that's a waste of gas, so you come along with us. What do you think we should bring?"  
"Our 'weapons' for definite, some water and food, just not the cereal. I mean it was a good idea to pick it up, but it's so dry it's gonna make us run out of water a lot faster than we want. What else did you bring?" Drew asked.  
"I got some beans and soup and stuff, I guess that'd be good." I replied, thinking back to the guy at the gas station who I really wish I'd helped.  
"Cans of stuff are really what we need. They'll last for ages and there's loads of them around usually, just I'm not sure about now. We could try check some stores for some though." Andy said.  
"More cans than people," Drew laughed. "And yeah, I think we should try. Where did you even get all this stuff anyway?"  
"There was this guy I met, at a gas station. He was all alone in the store, and when I walked in he pointed a gun at me. I was so confused as to what was going on, but he seemed pretty sure of everything happening, and he just let me take my gas and as much food as I could carry and go. I really wish I'd thanked him." I sighed.  
"Well, do you think he's still there? Do you think he could help us?" Drew asked.  
"We could try and find him," Andy said. "It could be good for us."  
"I'd like to," I said. "And maybe he'd agree to pack up and come along with us. He had a gun and ammo, so he could help us on the way to my house in case we run into anything."  
"Sounds like a plan!" Drew said excitedly. He really had perked up since yesterday.  
"It's a plan." Andy smiled as he opened the hatch.


	11. Chapter 10

The sudden light blinded me for a second, and then I realised what was happening. We weren't swarmed or anything - there weren't enough for that - but 2 biters came towards us as we stepped out of the bunker. It was the first time I'd seen one up close and I was terrified, but fascinated. They had bites on their necks and arms, but had managed to get away from whatever bit them and probably bled to death, or got infected. I wasn't sure how it worked, but I'd seen enough zombie movies to have an idea. I stepped back to let Andy and Drew, who were armed with a baseball bat and a shovel, handle the problem. After a few blows to the head, the two biters were on the floor, still and cold like they should be.  
"You okay?" Andy asked as he saw my face.  
"Yeah," I said, although I wasn't. "How did this all even happen?"  
"No one knows," sighed Drew as he closed the hatch behind us. "But I like to hope there's people working on it. Atlanta's supposed to be a safe zone, and there's a place called the CDC crawling in military vehicles, but we've never been too close to it."  
"Well why not?" I asked. "Surely it'd be a good idea to check it out?"  
"You'd think that but.. no." Andy said. I looked at him with disbelief.  
"Look, if all these people are rushing off to a 'safe zone', a big, unguarded city, it's going to end up going wrong. Think about it - thousands all gathered in one place, it'd be easy for one person to get infected and start infecting others." Drew explained. He had a point but still, surely it was an option?  
"What about the CDC?"  
"I wouldn't risk that either. Too far a journey on too little fuel."  
"What if we get some? From the gas-station guy?"  
"Don't get your hopes up. Now quick, let's get to the car before more biters come." Andy said as he walked round to the front of the cottage. He motioned to us that there was some form of threat on the other side of the street, so we just ran to the car as quietly as possible.  
"You got the stuff?" Drew asked as he saw me struggling with bottles and cans.  
"Yeah," I whispered. "I remembered the tin opener as well luckily."  
He smiled and opened the door for me, and soon enough we were all in the car on the way home.

I tried not to look through the window as we drove on, but it got to a point where I had to direct Andy and Drew to the gas-station and had to look. We weren't surrounded by biters, but there were a few individuals in the distance that were limping towards us. We drove through a town I'd not seen when travelling and watched a group of biters bump into a car so much the alarm went off, and my heart skipped a beat.  
"Quick Andy, get us out of here before more come." Drew warned him. There weren't any other cars on the road so we went pretty fast to get away, but drove slowly for the rest of the journey so we could preserve the fuel and avoid any obstacles on the road. We got lost once or twice and everytime we took a wrong turn, I thought to myself 'What if he's not there anymore? What if he left? What if he's dead, or what if he's a freak like those biters?' I cringed at the thought of him coming towards me. He was terrifying enough as a human, but not so terrifying that I'd leave him again. At least going back for him meant I could get rid of the guilt in my mind from not persuading him to come.

It wasn't long until we arrived into a familiar looking town and were welcomed by a pile of walkers. The ones at the bottom had their heads blown off; the ones at the top had their heads smashed in.  
"I guess that means he's out of ammo," Drew said under his breath. I gulped. "At least he can't shoot us when we get there." I smiled awkwardly, knowing that's exactly what he'd do when he saw us.  
"Get the car as close to the station as possible if I were you," I said nervously. "Although he didn't welcome me very warmly when I came in my car, it'll prove that we're alive and not biters."  
"Good idea," said Andy as he turned into the station. He pulled up to the front and turned off the engine. "Do you think he's in there?"  
"I hope he is, else it will have been a wasted journey."  
"It won't matter if it's a wasted journey, at least you'll know that we tried. You can put your mind at ease that way." Andy smiled, though I knew it would matter. The amount of fuel it took us to get down here, the amount of danger I'd put us through already by coming here - I couldn't forgive myself if he wasn't there anymore.


	12. Chapter 11

We got out of the car and walked through the automatic doors as silently as we could, not knowing what was waiting for us inside. I wanted to call out the guy's name but I never found out what it was, and making noise would have put us in even more danger. We walked round the store and couldn't see any sign of him, so Andy started picking what was left off of the shelves and stuffing it into his pockets.  
"Andy, don't do that. Wait until we know he's not here." Drew whispered.  
"Why? He let Hayley take stuff from here, why not us?"  
"Because I was scared, and confused, and the first person he'd seen in a very long time. I didn't start looting, I simply came in to pay for my gas and he offered me the stuff. I didn't steal from him and I don't plan to now!" I shivered. Andy looked at the floor and put the stuff back on the shelves.  
"We'll wait for him." Drew said. "For half an hour. If he doesn't show up before then, we'll leave."  
"But-" I began.  
"_And_ we'll check on the way back from your house, just incase." he continued.  
"That sounds fair," Andy said. "What about in the back? The whole building can't just be a shop, there's gotta be some sort of storage somewhere. Maybe he's hiding back there, with loads of supplies for himself? And he's left all this out here for whoever wants to take it?"  
"Could be possible. We should check." Drew said. All of a sudden, we heard the sound of an automatic door woosh open and we span to see what was coming towards us.  
"Look out!" someone cried from behind the till as a biter leapt towards us, growling and trailing blood onto the floor. Drew swung his baseball bat and hit it straight in the head, causing it to fall down onto the floor and spasm. He hit it again - and again - and _again _, until it finally stopped moving.

"What the hell." he hissed. "It's skull was like cardboard!"  
"It looks pretty old," said the guy from behind the counter as he walked towards us. I smiled. It was _the_ guy. "They must be coming closer. You kids should get out of here." he looked over at me and turned his head. "Don't I know you?"  
"Yes, yes you do!" I cried. "You helped me earlier this week! I came along wanting to pay for gas and you pointed a gun at me telling to leave and take all your stuff, it was crazy! I asked if you wanted to come with me but you didn't, I'm sorta hoping that's changed now."  
"What do you mean?"  
"We want you to come with us," Andy piped up. "We've found an army bunker in a town an hour or so from here and it's safe. The area seems relatively clean of biters - me and Drew took a few down when we got there but all the houses were practically abandoned, people had packed up and left. There's not much of a threat there and you'd be with us, have some company."  
"Yeah, we're just passing through to get some weapons and more supplies and we heard about you from Hayley here, she felt bad for not persuading you to come along with her earlier." Drew explained.  
"I felt so guilty for leaving you behind after everything you did for me, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm just so glad you're safe, thankyou."  
"Don't thank me missy, just get yourself out of here, it's not safe."  
"But you'll come with us?" I squeaked.  
"Maybe. I'll consider it. But I can't right now, there's stuff I need to.. take care of. You get your stuff, come back later. I'll be here waiting." he sighed. That was as good an offer as any, so we promised to come back as soon as possible for him and bring him home.  
"Stay safe," we said as we left the store. "We'll be back, I promise!" I added.


	13. Chapter 12

We drove around for a while as fast as we could, not wasting any time. We'd stop to refuel at the gas station before we left but Stewart, the gas-guy, seemed convinced there was next to nothing left. "That's not good," Andy had said when he heard. "We'll have to find somewhere else to get gas, or get years' worth of supplies on this run." That didn't sound like a likely option, so we vowed that whenever we drove past a gas-station, we'd fill up, but we didn't end up having much luck. Though we didn't pass many, they were inhabited by biters and we didn't want to take the risk, at least until we got guns.  
"Are you sure guns are even a good idea?" I asked nervously as we were getting closer to home. "Aren't they going to attract more biters because they're so loud?"  
"That's not the point, they're gonna be a last resort. If we get swarmed for example, we can't just beat them to death, we need something quick and easy. But guys, if there's ever just one of them, don't waste ammo." Drew said. "We need guns for protection, simple as that. And anyway, even if they do attract more biters, don't you think you'll feel safer with a gun in your hand?" He had a point, but I was still worried. I just told myself that we'd come all this way, so we may as well go and get them. They'd benefit us anyway, right? I'd always been so against guns, even before Michael joined the military. And the fact that he was shot made my fear - or hatred - even worse. But things were different now, as I was constantly reminded by the reanimated corpses trailing behind the car.

When it got to mid-afternoon we'd managed to find some form of superstore and we pulled into the parking lot, thinking it'd be easier to go now instead of later. It seemed practically deserted, which I guessed was a good thing, but it was hard to tell if anyone was inside the building. Andy and Drew had given me a shovel, though I wasn't sure I'd be any use with it. I was hoping I wouldn't have to kill anyone, but if I did, I was hoping they'd be old and decayed like the one that came into the gas-station earlier. Drew had killed that one pretty easily, but that might have just been him being strong. Sure I used to work out a few times a week, but that was to make sure I was a healthy weight, not a macho-fighting-gal. I didn't want to let the guys down but I was embarassed at how weak I was - hopefully they'd jump infront incase anything came at me. No, no, that's not fair to have them risk themselves for me. I was just hoping, wishing and praying nothing _would _happen.  
"You okay?" Andy asked as he saw the concerned look on my face.  
"I'll be alright. I hope." I gulped. I looked at the big building infront of me.  
"It'll be good for us, getting whatever's in there. Let's just get it over with yeah? Then we just have to get the guns and pick up Stewart and we can be home." he reassured me. I smiled to myself, trying to convince myself that everything was going to be okay. After all, what were the odds to find Stewart alive still after I'd left? Not very high, and we were lucky. Who's to say we're not gonna be lucky again in a couple hours too?

Speaking of luck, the odds weren't exactly in our favour. The minute we walked through the doors, we were ambushed by four or five biters. Andy and Drew took 3 of them out and I was left with the other limping towards me. I squealed and kicked it in the shin, watching it collapse to the ground. "Now what?" I mouthed at Andy when I saw it was trying to get back up. I then remembered the shovel I was holding - now was the time to test my 'gardening' skills. I forced the end of the shovel down onto the biters neck once, twice, three times and sighed with relief as it's head detached. "Gross." I said, kicking it's still biting-jaw across the room. "Please, don't ever make me do that again."  
"Gotta get some practise haha," Drew laughed. "Now let's be quick, grab what we want, hope there's no more biters and get outta here!"  
We each grabbed a cart and ran down every aisle, pushing whatever was left on the near-bare shelves into them. It hadn't occured to me about expiration dates until now, but I guessed that we'd just eat whatever went off soonest first. I was running down the dairy aisle, grabbing cheeses and yoghurts and was suddenly stopped in my tracks by a biter, crouched down feasting on a body with it's back towards me. I grimaced as I realised I'd have to get rid of it sooner or later, and decided it'd be best to do it sooner. I began making my way towards it, shovel in hand, shopping cart immobile next to the fridge. It was making gruesome noises and it smelt awful, so I was more than happy to get rid of it. My shovel was brought down in a matter of seconds, decapatating the biter and pouring blood onto the floor. The biter was still, well, biting, and I was worried it could somehow still get around, so this time I brought my shovel down a second time and cracked its skull open.


	14. Chapter 13

We were out of the store in an hour of so, and although we'd ransacked the entire place we didn't have much to show for it. We had more batteries than food, more underwear than water and no more fuel than we had arrived with.  
"We're gonna have to have a feast," Drew said as he saw all the yoghurts and milk. "That's gonna go off real soon. Ah well, at least we won't have to be eating dry cereal anymore." I laughed.  
"So, where next?" I asked impatiently. I knew we should stop for gas somewhere but I wanted to pick Stewart up and get going.  
"Your house of course," Andy said punching me on the shoulder. "It was worth coming here but I don't think we have enough gas to go gallavanting, not today anyway. Let's just get going and go home."  
"I couldn't have said it better." I smiled, stuffing all of our newly found resources into the trunk of the car and then jumping in after. Drew soon followed me and sat himself in the drivers seat with a huge grin on his face.  
"What're you so smiley about?" Andy laughed, clicking in his seatbelt at the back.  
"Oh, nothing.." he began. "Except this!" He got a familiar looking CD out of his pocket and ripped off the plastic wrap using his teeth. "Anyone for a bit of Greenday?" We all laughed and he fed it into his CD player, turned the volume up and began singing along. I didn't like Greenday - I never had, but seeing it make Drew so happy after everything that had happened the past couple of days made me happy too. Besides, it was nice to hear something familiar, despite what was going on, so I tried my best to sing along too. We got really into the moment, singing and laughing and remembering good times when all of a sudden Andy screamed.  
"Drive! Drive for god's sake!" he yelled. Drew didn't even have time to turn and look before he sped off as fast as he could. I turned the music off - the moment was dead, just like the hoarde of biters chasing after us.  
"What the hell man?" Drew shouted. "What even happened?!"  
"They swarmed! Didn't you see? There were dozens!" he replied, trying to catch his breath. I looked behind the car and saw ten, maybe fifteen in the distance trying to keep up with the car but failing.  
"Let's just get Stewart and leave like we planned okay?" I whispered, feeling the tension building in the car. Andy was scared and Drew was angry at himself for making such a foolish mistake, but the past was the past, even if it was only 2 minutes ago.

The drive from the supermarket to the gas station seemed like it took hours. We were all silent and scared - whatever good mood we'd been earlier had evaporated into nothingness. I didn't blame Drew for what happened; he had made a mistake but he was just trying to make us all feel better, and I respected that. I wasn't sure if Andy was angry at him for being so careless, but I really hoped he wasn't. The last thing I wanted was for them to argue, especially as everything had only just started to feel right. I prayed to myself that Drew wasn't going to be in a bad mood because if he was, he'd treat me like shit.  
"So, you got some toilet roll in the end then Andy?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't reply, just stared into nowhere. I sighed and leaned my head against the window, trying to ignore the headache forming in my temples. I closed my eyes and squeezed my head trying to make it go away. There were boxes of aspirin in the trunk but I didn't want to stop to get one, so I'd have to endure it. I looked over at Drew who was focusing on the speed limit, not that that mattered anymore. Andy was still staring into nothingness, and I seemed to be the only sane one in the car, despite only being introduced to this whole mess a day or two ago. I looked out of the window and saw a blur of trees whiz past. Drew was speeding up, obviously wanting to get out of the car and away from us as soon as possible. I could barely see what was outside and could barely tell where we were or how far away from Stewart was. But I did see one thing, far away in the distance but bound to be closer in a second thanks to Drew's reckless driving. A biter walking away from us, dressed in jeans, trainers, a sweater and a bright orange backpack.  
"Should I put him out his misery?" I asked Drew and Andy as we approached him. They said nothing, so I wound the window down and pointed my shovel out of it, when the biter turned around and yelled: "Hey!" I dropped my shovel and watched it bounce onto the ground as we drove past without stopping.


	15. Chapter 14

"What the hell was that?" I screamed as Drew kept on driving. "There was a person back there!"  
"It was a biter. Look how he's running." Drew said without blinking an eyelid. He'd slowed down but hadn't stopped, and wasn't planning to by the looks of things.  
"Did you not just hear him yell at us? He needed help, he was all by himself!" I cried.  
"Well he's gone now."  
"He's still running, Drew. I can see him." Andy piped up, though he didn't sound too enthusiastic at the thought of waiting for him.  
"So?"  
"He's running. Not limping, crawling, growling or whatever. He is sprinting towards us for our help!" I said angrily. "You guys took me in and now we're together. You may not have had a choice but that's not the point. It's not fair to just leave the poor guy by himself. Where's the humanity in that?" Drew slammed hard on the brakes.  
"Don't you _dare_ talk to me about humanity!" he yelled. "This bastard in the back seat pulled me away from my family, promising I'd be with them again soon, and then showed my no sign of remorse when we couldn't find them again! My family are _dead_! Nobody helped me with that! Why should I help this guy on the side of the road?"  
"Because you should treat others the way you'd like to be treated, not the way you were treated. None of this was our fault, okay? None of it. This freakshow we live in now just happened, just like that for no reason, and we're gonna have to adjust to it sooner or later without bitching and abandoning each other else there won't be anyone left! So can we _please_ just stop and help this guy!" I could feel myself flushing with anger, thinking how stupid I was with getting comfortable with these guys who I knew next to nothing about. They never failed to annoy me, and this was ridiculous.  
"1 minute." Drew said coldy. "He gets 1 minute to catch up to us, else I'm driving off."  
I looked behind the car and saw him a while away, bending down and trying to catch his breath. He'd ran for a long time and I was amazed at how he'd managed to keep up so far. I wanted him to keep going and to join us, but I wasn't even sure he'd realised we'd stopped.  
"He's exhausted," I said. "He'll need more than a minute Drew."  
"I decided a minute."  
I looked behind again anxiously, willing him to hurry up and get here. I opened the car door to show him he was welcome to get in the car and screamed when I saw a biter walking behind him.  
"Run!" I yelled as the biter got closer. He turned around but it was too late - the biter was on him.

He held it at arms length, fighting desperately for his life. I could hear the biter snapping away, growling in anticipation for it's next meal. They rolled around the floor, the backpack guy only just overpowering it and sprang up again, but this time he was ready. He kicked the biter to the floor and stamped on it's head, releasing an ooze of blood and pus over the road. He breathed out and looked up at us, and raced toward the car.  
"Thankyou thankyou thankyou!" he grinned as he reached us. I looked at Drew - it had been more than one minute, but he'd stopped to watch the action.  
"That's fine, sorry we drove past, these guys needed persuading." I smiled, glad to see a friendly-looking face instead of a morbid one. He looked at me, worried.  
"Don't worry, I convinced them to let you come with us. And I'm sure they'll take you on now they've seen how good you are at fighting, especially as I'm useless." He gave a half-smile, and opened the door to the back seat. I looked at Andy who sighed and then moved across, making room for the backpack guy.  
"Thanks again," the backpack guy said. "You guys are the first people I've seen since it all started. Wherever your headed, you can just take me there and drop me off and I'll make my own way from there if staying with you proves to be a problem. I don't want to intrude or anything - I'm so grateful that you even stopped. I'm Jackson by the way. Thanks again everyone. I promise I'll do what I can to repay you for helping me out."  
I sat there smiling to myself. Jackson had put me in a good mood even though he'd only really just introduced himself. I smiled at him, offered him my hand and introduced everyone else seeing as they didn't seem up to doing it themselves.  
"We're just off to my house to get some guns, and then to pick up our friend Stewart. He helped me out not too long ago, and we want to take him where we're staying, somewhere safe." I explained. "We should be arriving soon, actually. We've been driving for long enough!" He laughed and then we chatted for a while, until we finally arrived at my home.


	16. Chapter 15

It was strange seeing something so familiar with everything that had gone on. It was odd seeing my neighbours houses abandoned and left by the people I'd chat to on a daily basis. I was scared to go inside, scared of the horrors waiting for me, but I needed to. I didn't know what Michael would think about me bringing 3 strange men into our home, but Michael wasn't here anymore - he hadn't been around for a long time and I needed to stop dwelling on that fact, especially as surviving was hard enough without getting upset over a dead husband.  
"This is it," I sighed as we walked up to the door. "This is my old home. The place I used to live. Scavenge what you want while I'm gone guys, I thought I took everything but you never know. I'm gonna go into the basement and hope there's some decent weapons down there." We walked in and were welcomed by an open back door and three biters limping into the room. "You sort that out, I'll run for the guns." I said to Andy, Drew and Jackson, knowing they'd have a better chance against the biters than I did. I took my time walking around, feeling strange. I'd said goodbye to this house and left it forever a few days ago - why was I back? I'd put everything behind me, the sense of home, safeness and security just for survival and now I was facing it again due to my own will. I looked at the walls where pictures of me and my family used to hang, only to see spaces left. I wanted to crawl up and cry, but I didn't have time to waste. I made my way to the basement and walked down the steps, into a place I'd abandoned long before the whole world turned to crap.

It was dusty and gross, but I was also proud of what it held. Flags and photos Michael had hung on the wall adorned the place, making it feel homely and not as threatening. I wanted to stay down here forever, feeling safe, but I knew it wouldn't work and I'd just end up depressed. I made my way over to the drawers where Michael kept all of his gear, and found a few hand guns he'd bought for safety at home, as well as boxes of shells. But that wasn't all, there were some impressive-looking guns kept in a cabinet on display that I had to have. Michael was very fond of his guns, and I felt bad about taking them, but I knew that's what he would've wanted. He would have wanted to be here to protect me too, but that wasn't possible.

After staying in the basement for a few minutes, I decided it was time to leave before I got too emotional. I took whatever I felt necessary and ran upstairs to grab more clothes and whatever else I'd foolishly left. The guys were waiting in the kitchen, holding all of my crockery and cutlery.  
"Really?" I asked.  
"We need to eat out of something." Andy said. "Oh, and I took the last of your toilet roll as well." I laughed tearily, and decided it was time to go.  
"Are we okay out there?" Jackson asked Drew who was standing at the window by the front of the house.  
"We seem to have attracted a crowd, but they look like hopeless buggers anyway. Let's just leave and stop dithering, huh?" he suggested. I smiled and we all bundled into the car, finally ready to get Stewart and get home.


	17. Chapter 16

"Stewart? Are you ready to leave?" I called as I walked into the store, remembering about the biter we'd taken care of earlier and stepping over it. I was soon followed by Jackson, while Andy and Drew trailed behind.  
"He's not replying, guys." I said nervously, starting to worry that he'd gone already.  
"Don't worry Hayley, he did that last time remember?" Andy said half-heartedly.  
"But all of the shelves still have stuff on. Wouldn't he have packed it all up to take with him?" Jackson asked. He was right - the shelves were as full as they were before we left.  
"That's not good," Drew muttered under his breath to Andy, not realising I could hear. "Maybe we should leave."  
"Give her a chance man," Andy replied. "We can wait for a while."  
"I'll check behind the counter." Jackson said, hopping over the counter and slipping onto his back. "Shit!" he yelled.  
I rushed over to him and had to bite my palm when I saw what he'd slipped on.  
"That's blood.." I shivered, pointing at the floor. Jackson helped himself up and started to follow it.  
"Stay back," he warned, putting his hand infront of me. "I think I hear something.."  
He was right. Stewart ran towards us, but it was't Stewart - he had a gaping bite on his cheek and his eyes looked infected. Meanwhile, my eyes were welling up.  
"It's too late for him," I sniffed. "We were gone too long." I put my head in my hands, oblivious to the situation unfolding before me. All I knew was that I was a bad person - I hadn't persuaded him to come along with us, I'd faffed about at the supermarket too long, I'd got caught up in stupid little things that prevented us from getting here sooner. I wept for a while, trying to block out the sound of Drew and Andy beating Stewart's reanimated corpse to death.  
"If Stewart's been bitten and we've found him, where's the biter?" Andy asked nervously. We all looked around and saw nothing.  
"Jackson, be careful." I warned as I watched him venture even further behind the counter and into the storage room. He soon returned holding a still-biting head, smiling.  
"I think poor Stewart managed to take this guy out before it was too late. It's a shame." he said. A shame? That was an understatement. We'd gained one man and lost another. I was with 3 other people, but I felt more alone now than I had even when I was.  
"Hayley?" Drew said, seeing how distraught I must have looked. "Do you want to go?"  
I asked myself the same question. I wanted to be home again, but then it hit me that the only home I had was a bunker in the ground that I shared with 2 strange men. A home that was awful, cramped, smelly and terrifying. But I had to be grateful and make use of it.  
"No, let's take what's here first. I guess it's no use to him now," I sniffed, gesturing to Stewart's corpse. "I'm gonna go check see if there's any gas left to scavenge. Meet me at the car when you're done." And with that, I left.


	18. Chapter 17

I'd always liked my Hayley-time, the few precious moments I got to spend by myself away from all the commotion going on with everyone else. But when Michael passed, I started to loathe Hayley-time. I realised it was only good in small doses, and depressing in huge ones. Which is why I practically begged for Andy and Drew to let Jackson come along with us. I couldn't bear the thought of being alone throughout all of this, without a car, without friends, supplies, anything. It looked like he had no safe place to stay, and that just wasn't fair.  
"Life's not fair," I muttered to myself as I walked along the road. "Now more than ever."  
And although the thought of endless Hayley-time would have sickened me a few months ago, now I rejoiced it. I wasn't ecstatic about the thought of going alone through this disasterous world when I first left home, but now I was with people I released how attached you can get, and how heartbreaking it is when you have to leave them. Stewart was a prime example; I was so happy to finally see him again, and I was certain (okay, not certain, but hoping) that he'd stay with us and everything would be a little more bearable. But no, he was ripped away from us the same way that Michael and my father and every other human being on the world had been ripped away from anyone else when this plague hit, or before that. Life was cruel, unfair and I wasn't even sure that I wanted to live through it. These past few days had just confirmed the fact that there was no one I loved or knew left, and I had no other choice but to group up with total strangers. Was it even worth it? I mean, who'd want to live in a world where you never feel safe, always terrified of what's around the corner? I didn't want to put other people's lives in jeopardy, and I was pretty sure I'd end up doing that sooner or later, if I hadn't already. I thought to myself that maybe coming back for Stewart really wasn't as good an idea as I thought - he could still be alive right now if we hadn't come to find him and left him off guard. He was probably packing his stuff, sorting out what to bring with him when we came back for him when the biter came along and suprised him.  
"Damnit," I said, my eyes welling up again. "Hold it together you stupid kid."  
But the truth was, I couldn't. I hated how clingy I had been towards a guy who'd almost killed me the first time I saw him, and how devastated I had gotten when I'd seen him dead. I hated how I was in the middle of a constant mood-swing between Andy and Drew, and how Jackson seemed so happy and perky in the middle of all this crap that it made me feel sick, although it was obvious how nice a guy he was. I hated life how it is now, and I'd hated life a long time before this, so I didn't see why I was living. The minute Michael had been taken from me, I'd not enjoyed living. I hated how I had to deal every day without him, and yes I get it, there are more things to worry about right now, but I couldn't get over people that easily, even years later. I took my eyes off the ground and saw a biter slowly making it's way towards me. I decided that, although I hated life as a human, I'd hate it much more as a biter.

"Get it together Hayley," I whispered to myself. "Things are looking up." I laughed at my lie, and started heading back towards the gas station. The biter was quite a way behind me, so I only had to jog slowly to keep a distance. I realised how dark it was getting, and felt bad for lying to Andy and the others. I checked over my shoulder to see where the biter was, and noticed it was getting closer. And the closer it got, the more it resembled Stewart.  
"Get over it!" I yelled to myself. "Get over everything for god's sake!" I stopped in my tracks, turned around and kicked the biter in her chest, watching as it fell to the ground. I stopped to cry, but didn't have time - it grabbed onto my foot. I looked around and saw my foolish shouting had attracted 3, maybe 4 more and there was no way I could take them out without my shovel.  
"There's me wishing for death," I sighed, looking at the biter's hand. It was wearing a wedding ring. "Hmm," I said, looking at my own. "If your husbands dead, and my husbands dead, I guess that makes us the same anyway. You got over it anyway, by the looks of things." I laughed to myself, starting to shake. I was being swarmed, and I started to feel fear spreading over me. I decided what I wanted my last thoughts or words to be. My mind? It was blank. The only thing I could think of was 'quit whining, fight for your life and deal with it'. So yeah, I tried, believe it or not.


	19. Chapter 18

I remembered when me and my friends had gone out once in a cute little cafe that had just opened up in town. There were 4 of us - me, Cheryl, Nicola and Anne, and we'd not seen each other in a long time. There was a lot of catching up to do, and just one slice of cake and a cup of coffee wasn't gonna do it, yet that was all we had time for and still we managed to waste it. We began talking about how we were doing in our relationships, at work, plans we had for the summer, but after about five minutes we started talking about completely random stuff like always. I'm not sure how but the topic came up about near death experiences, and I was the only person who hadn't had one. Well, the only person up until now.  
The first biter threw itself on top of me, and I was convinced I wouldn't have the strength to keep it away from my face. I rolled it off of me and tried to get up, but there was another one behind me that I couldn't control. It grabbed onto my shoulders and leant forward to bite my neck, it's half-decayed jaw snapping away, and I had no other choice but to duck down and hope that it would let go. I ducked and it overbalanced, falling on top of the first one and squirming around hopelessly. There were a few more close to me but I pushed them away and started running for my life, terrified I wasn't going to make it. There was blood on my shoulders and cheeks and I prayed to god that it wasn't mine. I felt so gross and dirty and the biters were right on my back, suprisingly fast for dead people. But I was exhausted and I'd never been good at running. I wanted to take a few of them down but I didn't have a weapon and I wasn't strong at all. I couldn't help but yell as I ran, so angry at the fact that I'd brought this on myself and put everyone else in danger, yet again. I sprinted faster, my vision slowly getting worse as the night got darker. I wondered if I'd make it back to the gas station, if the guys had waited for me or left me. A set of headlights whizzing past me moments later only confirmed that they'd left and there was no longer any point in me running, I'd never make it alone. "Great," I breathed to myself. "Well, you've brought this on yourself. May as well take it like a man." I stopped running and turned to face the threat that was getting ever closer to me, and my heart stopped before they even reached me.


	20. Chapter 19

I thought I'd had it, that I was going to die. I was hoping that I would die quickly and be ripped to shreds instead of come back as a biter, but there wasn't really a choice in the matter. No, my only way out would be painful and terrifying. I couldn't imagine any worse way to die than to be eaten alive by, well, people, but it was the only option I had. I was exhausted, tired of running, tired of the guilt in my head and I wasn't sure if I was glad I was going to die or not which seemed crazy. I'd been secretly wishing that the others would come back for me, but when I saw them drive past all hope was gone and now I was left with this. I turned to see the biters I'd shoved off of me getting closer and closer, and there was no way I could outrun them this time.

The biter was an ugly, drooling, oozing mess that looked like it had climbed out of it's own grave. It was grabbing and lashing out at me, hoping to get some of my flesh to feast on. I had no weapons except my own fists, and I wasn't exactly going to punch one of them to death. I'd already wrestled two and I felt disgusting after touching them. "Just take it," I said. "It's your only way out." I clamped my eyes shut and felt fingers grip onto my skin, and then suddenly felt something whizz past my ear.  
"Move! Move!" a man with an accent yelled at me. I opened my eyes and saw two biters on the floor. I rushed away from the commotion and looked at my saviour - a man who was holding a crossbow and ironically wearing a jacket with angel wings on the back. His hair was scraggly, his arms covered in blood and his face covered in sweat.  
"Th-thankyou," I breathed, not really understanding what had just happened. "Who are you?" He didn't respond and just looked at the ground, as if he regretted saving me.  
"At least let me thank you properly, with your name?" I asked, not knowing what was wrong with the guy. I watched as he pulled an arrow out of one of the biters and used it to stab another one in the head.  
"Daryl!" someone called from further away. "Where are you brother?"  
"I'm here Merle," he yelled back. "Looks like I've found someone."  
Another man, who looked older and quite worn, appeared, with a disgusted look on his face.  
"D'you save her?" Merle asked.  
"Well yeah," Daryl murmered. "There were a few of 'em, thought I should take them out. Didn't even know she was in there." He angrily ripped the rest of his arrows out of the walkers and stuck them in his mouth, sucking off the blood and spitting it onto the floor. I cringed.  
"Well at least we didn't lose any bullets, little brother." Merle sighed. He looked at me like I was a piece of meat, and he looked at Daryl pretty much the same. Daryl nodded at his brother and started standing awkwardly.  
"Thanks I guess then," I said. "How are you guys doing?" Merle snorted, almost as if he was laughing.  
"Look missy, times aren't exactly right now, threats are everywhere. So although y'all might be happy to stand around small-talkin', we 'aint, are we Daryl?" Merle said, looking at his brother. Daryl nodded, still looking at the ground. "Let's go." he continued. They both looked at me as they walked away, and Merle began lecturing Daryl, fully aware I could still hear. "Why'd you save her? What's she ever do for us? She ever cook us a meal? Na, don't waste your shit Daryl! It's me and you little brother, we don't need no-one else!"  
I sighed, and began walking away thinking really, what the fuck just happened?


	21. Chapter 20

It was dark, almost pitch black. I could barely even see my hand in front of my face and the air was bitingly cold. I was shivering from both fear and coldness and I had no idea where I was or where I could go. I was unarmed, alone and absolutely terrified, and I could barely even walk anymore. The street lights didn't come on anymore and the only thing that could remotely be considered light were the stars in the sky, but even they looked depressing. I remember when my dad passed away, my mom said the stars in the sky weren't actually stars, that they were openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they're happy. I looked at the sky again and noticed how everything looked dull and lifeless. The world had become so depressing, and it was hard to remember what being happy and safe felt like, especially now. I knew it was only a matter of time until I stumbled upon a whole group of biters, waiting for me in the dark, but I refused to think about it. Although it was inevitable that I wouldn't be able to survive the night, I tried my best to focus on living. Finding shelter was a priority, but I couldn't _see_ shelter and that proved to be a problem. I also didn't have any way of defending myself in case I ran into a bunch of hungry biters, and that could be catastrophic if I ran into a building full of them. "Think positive," I whispered to myself. Think positive? All the positivity in this world had been sucked out the minute the first biter appeared. "Stop it!" I was arguing with myself, and it was crazy. I didn't want to be a crazy freak living in a world full of monsters where I was barely accepted anyway.

It occured to me that I should have gone off with Merle and Daryl, and I regretted that I hadn't when I had the chance. But how had they managed anyway? Sure, they had a crossbow and guns by the sound of it, but they were on foot and it looked like they were both pretty exhausted. They were dirty, sweaty, gross and rude, and I was glad that I'd been lucky enough to meet Andy and Drew when I had. "And Stewart," I added, not helping the whole positivity aspect of this situation. "Don't _ever_ forget Stewart." The thought of him made me want to cry, but I was too cold and tired to produce a single tear, and weeping hysterically in the darkness didn't sound like a good plan. Instead, I tried to think of my life before all this madness happenned, but it was hard. Nothing that went on in the past few years of my life was worth being remembered - I was a sad, workaholic, lonely widow that hadn't lived since my husband died. I was so angry that I'd wasted my life away drowning in my own sorrow that I lashed out into the darkness, trying to supress a scream that was building up inside of me. I wanted to scream at a lot of things, my life before, my life now, the people I'd met and the people that had betrayed me. The only thing I didn't think about screaming about was the biter I tripped over as I was walking and debating with myself.

It grabbed my leg and I shook it off in an instant, crawling away as fast as my trembling body could. I flipped over onto my back and saw the biter tower over me, reaching it's hands out to grab any part of me it could find in the dark. I grabbed it's wrist and twisted it, not sure how to hurt it but desperately trying to damage it in any way possible. It growled at me and I prayed for it to be silent, worried it would attract more. I was flailing around wildly in the dark with a dead human being who was trying to eat me, and I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not. But no, the sharp dig of fingernails into my jeans confirmed the fact that I was well and truly awake. I rolled over as quickly as possible, hoping and wishing that it hadn't cut my skin. I didn't know how the biter-process worked but I didn't want any injuries, biter or no biter. It scrabbled at my back with it's ice-cold hands, and I had to bite on my lips not the squeal. I could see it was getting lighter but I couldn't see where the biter's head was, and I needed to tell where it was so I didn't blindly stamp on the floor. I rolled over one last time and then jumped up to my feet, trying to catch my breath and keep my balance at the same time. It practically roared at me and tried to reach out at my shoulders but it didn't have time - I'd already pushed it on the floor and put my foot on it's chest. I could feel it wriggling about underneath me but wasn't going to waste any time freaking out about it, so I took a deep breath and then jumped onto it's skull, again and again until I heard it's brains squelch on the grass. I then turned around, vomited whatever I'd eaten previously onto the grass, and ran away freezing and crying.


	22. Chapter 21

I was attacked three more times in the night, but I was far too exhausted to run away. I managed to overpower all three and kill them with time, but only just, and when I woke up I was in amongst a pile of bodies, smelling awful and being blinding by the sunlight. There were some biters ambling around in the distance but none of them seemed to notice me as I laid down with the bodies I'd killed earlier. I felt gross all covered in guts and blood, and I was desperately trying to ignore how bad I smelt so I wouldn't vomit everywhere again. I looked around and saw that I was close to the gas station, and the thought of Stewart popped into my mind. I tried to wipe away the tear that streamed down my cheek as I thought of him but could barely lift my arm - I was still so cold, even with the sun beating down on me. I knew I needed to get away, but I didn't know where to or how. I wanted Jackson to convince Andy and Drew to come back for me but I didn't want to get my hopes up - they'd driven past me once without stopping, which proved they didn't care. I hated them for not stopping but I felt bad about running off in the first place, and just because I hated them didn't mean I didn't want to see them again. I decided I'd try and make my way back to the shelter, but first I needed a weapon and some food, and preferably some fresh clothes. I started my way into what I thought was the right direction, walking quietly and stiffly. I was so cold that I couldn't walk right, and there were biters just a few meters away. They didn't seem to notice me, and I was glad, but I didn't want to let my guard down. I edged my way down the road, hiding behind cars and trees until I finally reached a house.

The garden was well groomed and it looked like a relatively normal house, despite the front door hanging wide open and the dead biter on the floor. I kicked it to make sure it wasn't going to pounce on me while I wasn't looking, and saw an arrow in it's head. "Daryl," I smiled to myself. "But he's probably long gone." I walked into the house quietly and saw the kitchen had been ripped to pieces - the only thing left was a tin of dog food. I grimaced at the thought of eating it but put it in my pocket anyway. I turned on the tap to see if the water was still running and got a few drops before it packed in. Upstairs hadn't been looked at yet, and I was lucky enough to find a wardrobe full of men's clothes. I put on a shirt and threw some more clothes into a bag I found in the hallway. It wasn't long until I was done in that house, and I was pretty disappointed with my find. The only thing left to search was the shed in the garden, but I could see it was heavily chained up with multiple padlocks.

I approached the shed cautiously, looking around to see any biters. The coast seemed clear, but I could hear a growling sound. I pulled at the lock on the shed and there was no way of opening the door, so the only way in was to smash the window. I found a rock and threw it through the glass, shuddering at the horrible, loud noise it made. I realised it was too small to crawl through, so I looked through and saw a hand grab out at me.  
"Shit!" I hissed, backing away. The glass from the window was imbedded into the biter's hand, leaving a trail of black blood to pour down it's wrist. It reached out towards me, growling and roaring but being restricted by the walls of the shed. I decided it was too risky to grab anything out of it, so I just ran, and hoped there'd be somewhere else I could look in.


	23. Chapter 22

After walking for what felt like miles and finding several infested houses, I managed to find a house that looked biter-free. I tried the front door but it had been blocked from the inside and I couldn't open it wide enough to get through, so I wriggled my way through a window around the back. I landed on my arm as I fell through, which still didn't feel right from the cold that had hit me last night, but I managed to get up and venture round the place in hope for some food.

The kitchen smelt awful and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since it had been fitted. There were pizza boxes and chinese-food cartons piled high on one side, and cans of beer cluttered over the other. The sink was full of dirty dishes and cutlery and the dishwasher was the same. I sighed as I realised that there probably wasn't anything here other than trash, but was pleasantly suprised when I opened a cupboard and found a tin of beans and another of spaghetti. I put the beans in my clothes bag and raided the drawers for a tin-opener, without any luck. I could hear my stomach rumbling as I tried desperately to get into the can, and I was getting so angry I threw it across the room. Then I heard something crash upstairs.  
"Shit," I breathed. "Forget eating, you're about to get eaten."


	24. Chapter 23

"You idiot!" Merle yelled as he ran down the stairs to pick up what Daryl dropped. I'd hidden behind the doorframe, worried he'd start yelling at me too. "God'damnit there are shells everywhere! Hey! Come pick them up!" There was a silence, and then I heard Daryl heavily walking down the stairs. He bent down to pick up the bullets that had fallen out of the box when he dropped it, and Merle slapped him on the back of the head and continued upstairs.  
"Psst," I whispered, not really thinking. "Daryl."  
He turned to look at me, and almost jumped out of his skin.  
"You're still alive?" he asked, gobsmacked. I nodded, hiding myself behind my hair.  
"Just," I said. "Thankyou for the other day. I appreciate that."  
"Don't mention it," he said. I thought he meant it kindly, but then I remember how Merle had treated him. Yeah, it was best not to mention it. "You found anything in here?"  
"Food," I said, though I wish I'd lied. "Tin of beans. Beats dog food though."  
He sighed. "You better get out'ta here. If Merle sees you, he'll just yell again."  
"But why? What have I even done for him to be angry at me?"  
"Nu'tin. He's just not good with people. Doesn't wanna help unless he gets helped, y'know?"  
I knew. And I hated people like that.  
"I take it he's only nice to you because you're his brother, right?" I asked. Daryl looked at me, hurt. "Well, he treats you like shit." I admitted. He sighed, scooped the bullets from the floor into the box and stood up.  
"Get out of here." he said coldly, walking away.


	25. Chapter 24

I went back into the kitchen and retrieved the can I'd dropped, intending to leave as soon as I could find a way out without Merle noticing. It was strange talking to Daryl alone, and it was until after I'd said what I did that I realised I was being mean. It was uncalled for, and although it was the truth, if Daryl didn't want to believe it he shouldn't have to. I sighed - I seem to be doing a lot of that lately - and found my way back into the garden. There was a biter trailing along the fence, and I tried my best to edge my way around it without it noticing me. There was another shed in this garden, but this time it didn't look like a prison and was chain-free. I opened the door and there wasn't anyone in there except for myself, thankfully. I wondered why on earth there _would _be a biter trapped in a shed as I grabbed a rusty shovel that was hung up on the shed wall, but then realised people might have wanted to keep it in case of a cure or whatever. It made sense, but I didn't want to get my hopes up by believing in a cure. Besides, I had no-one left anyway.

I took out the biter that was walking around the garden and towards me with a few whacks of the shovel, and then decided to try and eat again. I wiped the shovel on the grass and made sure it was relatively clean of biter-blood before whacking the can open with it.  
"Woah lil' brother, what a pleasant surr-prise we have here," I heard Merle's familiar drawl. "Sittin' out by herself havin' a lonely ol' picnic." I turned to look at them and saw Daryl staring at the ground. "Been here long, missee?"  
"Not long enough." I breathed. "Look out behind you." I added casually as two biters appeared behind Merle and Daryl. Merle simply laughed as he turned around and hit one in the head with the end of his gun. Daryl lifted his crossbow but Merle told him "to leave it."  
"This ones for her," he said, referring to me. "She seems to have done a might fine job on that'en."  
I looked at the biter I'd taken out earlier and wiped my forehead with my sleeve. I didn't want to have to put this one down too, but it seemed like I was the only one who would.  
"Whatever," Daryl said, slinging his crossbow over his arm. "I'ma go out front, see if there's any of those sons of bitches out there." He walked away, and Merle's gaze turned towards me.  
"Well?" he asked. "He's getting closer to your pretty face." I stood up, placing my tin of food on the floor and raised my shovel. The biter ran towards me, using it's only arm to grab at my neck but I was too quick - one swipe of the shovel and it's head fell straight off, still snapping away. I was suprised and amazed at how easily I'd done it, but was focusing more on whether Merle was impressed or not for whatever reason.  
"Woah-o-oah little lady," he chuckled. "Daryl, looks like we got 'urselves a ninja over here."  
My smile dropped. He was being a sarcastic dickhead, as I should have expected.  
"You know, that was pretty badass, not normal behaviour for any lady I've seen," he remarked, edging closer. "Not that I've seen a lady in a while.."  
I walked away before he tried anything more, picking up my food and dragging my shovel behind me as I went.


	26. Chapter 25

"Hey, where are you going?" Daryl breathed as he jogged to keep up with me. I'd walked to the front of the house and was speeding away angrily in whatever direction my feet were taking me.  
"Away from here. Isn't that what you wanted?" I snapped, my cheeks flaming red.  
"What did Merle do?" He ran infront of me and stopped so I couldn't continue. I turned in the other direction and began again. "Hey! Tell me!"  
"Why the hell would you care? You saved me and you regret it. You see me again and you tell me to leave before I stir shit up between you and your asshole brother. And now you're asking what's wrong with me, as if you actually give a fuck? Hah, likely." I was trying my best not to show how messed up I felt, but it wasn't going very well.  
"It's not that I don't care I just - I'm not good with people I mean- I saved you before, isn't that something?" he stuttered. I glared at him. "It's Merle, ya'know? He's my older brother and I'm-"  
"His bitch?" I interrupted. Now it was his turn to glare. He sighed.  
"Yes, his bitch. And there 'aint nothing I can do about it because he's the only one I've got. I've not seen _anyone_ else since this shit started, it was just me and him. So don't expect me to know how to act when I meet someone new, okay?"  
"Whatever. Just leave me alone. I hope you guys are very happy together. I gotta go."  
"Don't sell me that bullshit!" Daryl yelled. "You're all alone, just like me and Merle."  
"That's not true, I have friends to be with." I said half-heartedly.  
"Yeah, and I got'a date with Megan Fox at seven this evening but that 'aint happenning."  
I groaned. "Would you just leave me be, okay? Go back to Merle, live, kill, survive, do whatever the hell you did before I came along and forget about it!"  
"Things aren't that easy!"  
"You don't even know me, I'm sure it's not that hard." And with that I sprinted away, trying to run as fast as I could and keep hold of my shovel at the same time.


	27. Chapter 26

"Where'd your little girlfriend go, little brother?" Merle asked Daryl as he approached him from behind.  
"I don't know who you're talking about." Daryl muttered. He was taking the whole 'forget about me' thing literally.  
"The one with the pretty face and the prettier ass," Merle laughed. "I heard you guys having a lil' chat before I came on over."  
"Just leave it." Daryl said. "She was a bitch."  
"Well, that is what you get for being nice to a stranger. She had nothing to do with us, and she doesn't _want_ anything to do with us. Can't trust people see," he said. "You got me, I'm all ya' need. There 'aint no humanity left in this world, just disrespect for us." He rustled Daryl's hair and shifted his gun up onto his shoulder.  
"You're right." Daryl hissed. "Don't need no-one. I 'aint helping nobody anymo'."  
"That's the spirit," Merle chuckled. "Now let's go grab what's left in this shit-hole and make our way to Atlanta. See if there's any safe place there."  
"But isn't that where people will be? I thought we couldn't trust people," Daryl said half-jokingly.  
"We'll be _amongst_ other people, not _with_ them. It's better than out here anyway."  
"Whatever. Let's go."  
And so, they left for Atlanta. And I had no hope in hell of seeing them again.  
Good riddance?


	28. Chapter 27

I ran until I couldn't run anymore. I wa s trying to get back to the bunker but I had no idea how far away it was on foot , or in what direction. My shovel had pr oven useful when I was approached by a f ew biters, but luckily I wasn't swarmed and they were all on their own. I tried my best not to think about upsetting thi ngs like how Stewart had died, how the g uys had left me and how Merle treated pe ople in general, but found the angrier I was, the faster I ran. I let the rage b uild up inside of me for when biters cam e, and when they did I was so violent to wards them that I was still beating them even when they had been put down. I was determined to get home before dark, or at least find a decent shelter. There wa s no way I'd let myself spend another ni ght hopelessly ambling round in the dark , unarmed and unprepared. I was so cold that night that I could barely feel anyt hing, and the feeling hadn't changed - I was still numb, but was trying to think of other things to distract myself from the pain. Normally when I ran I'd liste n to some music, but that was when I ran to keep fit and not for my life. Things had changed a lot and I couldn't focus on the petty things like my iPod. My mai n priority was to be safe, and it wasn't long until I came across something that seemed perfect.

Even in the daylight, sitting inside of it was terrifying. It was damp, dark and smelly, and there was only one way in a nd out, but it still seemed right. The c ave was pretty deep and was big enough f or me stand up, lie down, all that jazz. All I needed to do was get a light in t here somehow, block up the wall and make sure I was warm enough. I dedicated the rest of the day to scavenging all kinds of objects from nearby homes and shops, from candles and matches to tea-cosies and furniture. Yes, that's right, furnit ure. I admit it wasn't my best plan of a ction, but it was the only thing I found that could possibly block the entrance to the cave well enough. I threw everyth ing in when I returned, made sure to pos ition and light the candles and then sta cked the tables and drawers I'd found in front of me to prevent anyone or anythin g from entering. I threw on all the clot hes I'd picked up from the houses before and after and then tried my best to enj oy the fact I was 'safe', even though I didn't feel it. It turned out that I don 't feel safe unless I'm with someone, an d by someone I mean anyone. I was terrif ied of spending the night alone in a str ange cave, and would even have settled w ith Merle looking after me if it meant I was protected.


	29. Chapter 28

I didn't get a solid wink of sleep that night, as expected. The flickering candlelight was really distracting and the noises of ambling biters outside had me terrified. I regretted the decision of trapping myself in a dank hole for the night, because I had no choice but to remain there until morning. There was no way of me getting out without creating a scene and at a time as cold, dark and threatening as this, there was no way I'd be able to fight any biters off.  
I tried to distract myself from thinking about what was going on outside, but it was hard. I knew there would most likely be some close, but so far they weren't scrambling against my make-shift barricade, and I had to be grateful for that. I wondered if they knew I was in there, and then I tried to think of something else. My stomach was crying out for some food, but I needed to keep what I had and ration it carefully as I had no idea where my next meal would come from. I just wanted to be home, safe and warm with Michael in my bed like I was a few years ago. And although it was obvious I couldn't be there, I still hoped and prayed that I somehow was.


	30. Chapter 29

Seeing him again petrified me. I couldn't believe it was really happening. Well, it wasn't, but it all felt so real. I was dreaming, but I was controlling what was happening as if I was really there, and nothing was blatantly artificial. The only thing that made me realise it was a dream was of course, that my dead husband was there and alive, living, breathing and talking again - and that couldn't possibly happen.  
It started with me waking up in bed, wrapped up like a caterpillar in our duvet. I woke with a smile on my face that grew wider as I saw a note taped to my bedside table, saying 'Gone to get breakfast, be back soon - M x x x'. He often left me notes like this on lazy Saturdays while he sneaked off preparing something sweet for the both of us. I grabbed the note and put it to my face, beaming at the preciousness and importance of it. A recent note, from a man I loved more than anything that had been taken from me a long time ago. It was silly how much it meant to me now, as I would have just thought it was cute before he died.

It wasn't long until he returned carrying a tray full of all the cliché breakfast-in-bed foods. His short hair was scruffed up, his chin was covered with stubble and the concentration on his face as he walked towards the bed was hilarious.  
"I won't make a mess with it again, I promise!" he laughed, trying to steady the tray. The orange juice in a glass was splashing everywhere. True, he had a habit of spilling everything when he did this for me, but it didn't make me love him any less. I took the tray and gazed up at him, not worrying about why he was here but just embracing the moment.  
"It's perfect," I breathed, "Don't worry about it."  
He climbed into bed next to me and tucked into his breakfast, and so did I.

It wasn't much, but it was a beautiful moment for me. Even the simple things between me and him were fond memories, and reliving this one was wonderful. Up until he turned on the tv.  
I was smacked in the face with reality, as I saw the news broadcasts I'd seen not weeks ago flood into my dream. Except this time, I was paying attention, and I had Michael with me. I didn't want to relive what was going on now - this was my dream, my haven, the one place I could be without having to face the terror in the world now - and it was being bombarded by the truth. I looked over at Michael to see his reaction to the stories appearing on TV, and saw him lying down on his back, facing away. I touched his hand and jerked mine back quickly as I realised how cold he was. He looked thinner than just moments ago, and he wasn't moving. When I said reality had hit, I wasn't far off.

Michael was dead again, taken from me once more. I'd just started to feel happy and then he was snatched away from me, leaving me alone and terrified again. I wanted to cry, weep, scream, but I simply couldn't. I was faced with the task of looking after myself again, preparing for the coming apocalypse and trying my best to survive - but at least now I had a headstart.


	31. Chapter 30

I did everything the same as before, but didn't waste time trying to figure out what was going on. I threw everything together into my car and left, intending to fill up with gas and get as many supplies as possible before the panic really hit. I stood in the doorway to our bedroom and looked at Michael's corpse on the bed, wanting to say goodbye but not knowing how. I didn't want to get any closer - I couldn't bear to see him dead and lifeless again. I just whispered "I'll be seeing you" and drove off.

I didn't go to Stewart's gas station and I didn't park up and spend the night on the side of a road. I didn't encounter Andy and Drew on the highway and I never saw Jackson run along the street trying to get my attention. Nothing happened except me driving along deserted roads, all alone in the world. There were no biters, no people, just me. It was strange, and I couldn't decide whether I preferred it to how things really were. I'd never felt so alone, and although I was trying desperately to ignore what was going on, my heart ached. I wanted to wake up - in the real world I felt scared, and here I felt miserable, hopeless. I didn't even know why I was still driving seeing as there was no point in going anywhere. Seeing your husband dead in your bed is enough to make anyone leave their house, but now I'd left I was unsure of what to do. Everywhere I looked was deserted of all life (or death), and although I should have felt safe, I didn't. I was just waiting for something to jump out at me and ruin the silence.


	32. Chapter 31

It didn't matter that Michael got me. The silent, baron land of my dreams would've driven me mad anyway. Sure, getting ripped to pieces by your zombified long-dead husband in a dream does suck, but at least it woke me up. I wasn't sure if I would've woken if it hadn't happened, and I guess I should be glad for that.

There I go, trying to look on the bright side, trying to distract myself from the crap that really happened. Well, it didn't happen, but my mind came up with that without me even trying. Not that I would've tried to think about that anyway. I'm rambling.

I woke up from my dream in cold sweats, and I had to peel several layers of damp clothes off of me before I recovered. I had to bite on my hand to stop myself from sceaming at one point, and I felt so vulnerable. In a world full of people abandoning me and the dead trying to rip the flesh from my bones, even my own mind had turned against me. I remember hearing that if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. That's probably bullshit, but to be honest I felt like I'd died, or at least parts of me had withered away. What did the dream even mean? Should I not have gone home and taken Michael's stuff? Should I have done things differently when the shit hit the fan? Who knows. I didn't want to think about it. My main priority was to get out of this hole before I started to panic.


	33. Chapter 32

I began to regret using furniture to block my way out the minute I began to move it. Damn, I even regretted using it before I'd settled down for the night. It was the stupidest idea I'd come up with in a long time and I can't believe I thought it would be okay. I'll just blame it on hunger and desperation. If I don't find civilisation today, I'm gonna secure a house for the night. I know it's dangerous but if biters got into my cave, there was no chance of me getting out alive - at least in a house there's more than one exit. Hopefully it'll be a house with food, because I'm getting hungry, but the more I think about it the hungrier I'll be. I have more important matters at hand.

Pulling away my barricade of tables and chairs was awful as you can imagine. It made so much noise it was a wonder that biters didn't swarm me. There were two or three wandering in the distance but they were walking in a direction away from me so I decided to just slide away quietly and make my way forward. I was carrying a bag full of everything I'd previously collected, including the candles I'd used to light the cave, but I wasn't very smart about it and ended up with hot candlewax drying and sticking to my clothes. I had to pull them apart from each other and the fabric ripped, so they ended up ruined. Marvellous. Yet another necessity to add to the list.

My list, which I may or may not have mentioned before, began the minute I left home for the first time. Fuel, food, water, batteries, all the necessities. Sure, it hadn't occured to me that clothes would be a problem, but with mine a long distance away I needed to make do with 'new' ones. Anyway, the list is evergrowing and some things need to be crossed off. First things first, I need the bathroom. And by the bathroom, I don't mean on the side of a road - I want a bathroom. I decided that the minute I come across a house I'll empty it of the dead, use the toilet, ransack it of all food, clothes, bags etc and then go on my way. That's another thing actually - finding a map would be a good idea. I did originally bring one with me but that got left in my car. The more I think about all the things I brought with me and left behind with the guys the stupider and angrier I feel. Sure, it was a dumbass move on my part to give the keys of my car and all my supplies to some strangers not a day after meeting them, but they didn't come back to save me when they saw me meaning they've practically robbed me of all my stuff. When (or if) I make it back to those guys, I'm really gonna give them a piece of my mind. Ooh, that's good, I'm angry now - clearing this house might be a lot easier than expected.


	34. Chapter 33

It was strange finding houses again. I'd been walking though woods pretty much all day and when I came across a country road with houses, it felt like I'd not seen them in years. There were only 3 homes that I could see, all of them looking relatively large and expensive so I assumed there shouldn't be too many undead around. I thought that the people living there would be retired old folk who wanted to live out their last few days in luxury. Hah, what an active imagination I have.  
Anyway, I decided to through all 3 houses seeing as I was there. The first one was old and cute, the sort of thing I'd liked to have lived in when I got old. I checked the road was clear before I moved into the garden and peered into the windows, and decided to make some noises to attract any biters incase there were some inside that I couldn't see. I spent a good ten minutes trying to make noise before hitting the ageing wooden door with my shovel and letting myself in.

The house was swarmed with cobwebs and dust, but did look lived in. Maybe the people that owned it weren't fussed with cleaning? Seemed likely - I was in the country and with the smell of cow shit drifting in through the windows all the time, cleaning didn't seem like that big a deal. The front door opened up into the den which had several bookcases, a piano and a wardrobe to put coats in near the front. I opened the wardrobe and grabbed a coat that looked more or less my size, and put it on other my top. After checking the wardrobe for anything else useful, I walked deeper into the den and saw endless books, magazines, remotes and old people junk. There was an overflowing ashtray on the coffee table and the ash was cold, indicating that the people here were long-gone. I decided to grab all the batteries from the remotes and even checked the bookcases for maps, but didn't find anything useful. However, the kitchen was much different.

The kitchen was huge, with an old-fashioned oven and fridge taking up a huge area of the room. I opened up the fridge and saw eggs, milk, cheese, butter - all the standard things you'd normally find. I looked at the calender on the wall and saw that the eggs and milk were out of date, but I put the cheese in my bag as a last resort. The cupboards had their fair share of cans and boxes, and I came across tinned spaghetti, custard, vegetables, fruit, beans and even cat food. It made me wonder where the cat was if they had one. Hopefully it wouldn't leap at me and scratch my eyes out when I searched more of the rooms.


	35. Chapter 34

It wasn't cats I had to worry about while searching the rooms. Stupid old me decided it'd be a good idea to search the place for resources before checking it was biter-free. The minute I'd done ransacking the lower floor and began upstairs, I heard a faint scratching on a door or the wall. It didn't occur to me that it would be a dead person, I thought it'd be a mouse or something scuffling about, or the cat. I can't believe how much of an idiot I was - not only did I not check the house before searching downstairs, I didn't even check it when I was upstairs. I just went straight to the bathroom and did my business.

Okay, so I guess I deserved getting attacked on the toilet. Just a result of my stupidity, yeah? But still, it was embarrassing and terrifying. I was unarmed, unprepared and jeez, I even had my pants round my ankles. The only thing I had was the toilet-roll holder, one of those ones that stand on the floor instead of on the wall. It was a crappy plastic hollow thing but I picked it up and smacked the shit out of the biter all the same. I swung as hard as I could and managed to send the old bastard back a few paces before getting up and sorting myself out. Pants now pulled up, I pushed him onto the floor and stamped on his head once, twice, three times until his brains spilled on the carpet. Eugh. At least it covered the smell of the non-flushing toilet up. Thank God nobody saw me. Wouldn't that have been an awkward introduction?  
"Oh hi, my name's Hayley and you may or may not have already seen my ass. Fancy helping me out and giving me a ride?"  
Yeah, likely.


	36. Chapter 35

After leaving the first house my bag was pretty full up with food, batteries and even a hairbrush. (Yes, it's the apocalypse I know, but appearance is still a priority in case someone comes along and offers me a ride). I learnt from my mistakes in the toilet-attack and made a hell of a lot of noise before entering the other houses, and then checked every room before searching for supplies. From all three houses, I got various items of clothing, a pair of shoes in more or less my size, various cans and boxes of food, countless batteries and a swiss army knife hiding in some teenage boy's bedroom. Of course, I had to put his undead corpse down first but it was a handy little toy to get in the end. His parents were roaming around the bottom of the stairs and they ran straight at me the minute I got the door open, but luckily the door fell on the guy and gave me some time to sort the lady out. She was young and pale, but had bite marks all up her arms - she might have been pretty before she died. She went down with a blow to the head from my shovel (no, not a loo-roll holder this time folks). The guy under the door was fat and balding, and I guessed he was pretty rich to be able to land a girl that attractive. Or maybe he was just nice. Hmm. I'm good at judging people before I get to know them. Not that I could get to know them now anyway... Anyhoo, I didn't want to risk pulling him out from under the door so I just jumped on it as hard as I could and hoped it'd do the trick. After three or four jumps, the wood splintered and pierced right into his skull, causing thick oozy blood to pour out into the cracks in the floorboards and even on my shoes. Luckily, the pretty dead lady had size fives and I managed to find a pair of boots in her bedroom later on. Normally I wouldn't dare put my feet in some stranger's scabby old boots but desperate times call for desperate measures, huh?


	37. Chapter 36

After escaping the houses with the majority of their goodies all packed into a nice suitcase I found in house number 3, I settled down for a spot of lunch while the sun was up and being warm. Of course, the peace and tranquility of my picnic was soon interrupted by two or three biters which was only to be expected. I threw a handful of fruit loops into my mouth, brushed the grass from my butt and grabbed the shovel. Luckily the biters were spaced out from each other, so I had at least half a minute to put one down before the other caught up. The first biter was an elderly looking woman wearing only one high-heel. She shuffled her way towards me painfully slowly so I had time to prepare myself and get used to the feeling of my heart pounding in my throat. I raised my shovel into the air and brought it down on the old woman's head, watching as it cracked her skull and sent a stream of scarlet into the sky. The lady dropped to her knees and then fell forward, well and truly dead. I stepped back just in time to make sure my new blood-free boots wouldn't get splattered, and set to work on the other biter.  
This guy was a complete and utter mess. He was growling and reaching out towards me, his broken fingers pointing and stretching in all directions. Blood was pouring down his chin and I felt my heart stop as I saw the bulge in his pocket - the unmistakable shape of a gun. I checked behind me and jogged backwards to see the third biter wobbling side to side, trying to keep his balance as he walked. I figured I had enough time to sort him out before I got caught up with both of them, so I gripped hold of my shovel and hit him in the head from as far as way as possible. I didn't want that wriggling, infected freak to touch me but the shovel wasn't doing anything from that distance. It wasn't long until he was so close I could see the flesh in his teeth, and I almost gagged at the sight of it. But I didn't have time to waste - I needed to sort him out _now_. Just as I was about to slam the shovel on his head again, I felt his hands round my waist gripping into my sides and I let out a bloodcurdling scream, dropping the shovel straight onto his head. I closed my eyes and felt the biter's blood squirt onto my once-clean coat. Two down, one to go.


	38. Chapter 37

The last biter took a lot of energy. No matter how many times I hit it with my shovel, it just wouldn't go down. And every time it did go down, it'd pull itself right back up again and start reaching towards me with it's ghastly fingers. Having Daryl around would've been handy at that precise moment in time - heck, I might've even settled for Merle. I just felt like I'd beaten enough dead people to a pulp for one day. I couldn't even go to the bathroom for a minute without being ambushed by a grizzly, oozing freak. I just wanted someone to watch my back.

As I slammed the final biter down to the floor and finally managed to put it out's it's misery, I looked around for one last time. I'd been in all the houses, all the gardens and there were no other buildings to be seen. There hadn't even been that many biters, which was a good sign, but I didn't want to stick around as they houses were too big with too many hiding places, and none of them seemed very secure. It was time to leave and find civilisation.

Even if that civilisation was Atlanta.


	39. Chapter 38

I know, I know, Atlanta was a bad idea. When the guys had brought up the idea earlier in the week and explained about how awful it would be if things went wrong, even I'd agreed. But overhearing Merle and Daryl discuss it brought the thought back into my mind. Atlanta. I'd been there before on occasional trips, and I knew where it was and how to get there from certain roads. There were military vehicles there and maybe there were people that could help me. I'd have a home again, and I'd actually be treated like a frail, fragile woman instead of being rushed into combat like I was with Drew and Andy. Sure, they didn't force me into fighting but it'd be nice to just sit pretty and wait it all out. Besides, out of all the people I'd met since the shit hit the fan, I'm the only woman. That must be important. Maybe I'd be the only woman at Atlanta - I'd be welcomed with open arms, I'd get all the food and toilet-time I wanted. Uh, bliss. I smiled to myself as I walked down the road.

As you can probably tell, I've developed an interesting imagination over the years. As a kid, I was invisible, meaning most of my friends were imaginary. When I was in college, I was boring and instead of sleeping round like I wish I had, I studied and had virtually no interaction with anyone. While Michael was away with the army I was alone and left to my own devices - even more so after he got killed. So overall, I've been pretty lonely, and managed to cope by entertaining myself with little things. Sometimes I'd distract myself and just think about random things, whatever popped into my head. I'd expand on them so much that a whole day would have passed and I would have done absolutely nothing - or somehow I'd have magically achieved something.

Today was one of those days. By occupying my brain with thoughts and fantasies about Atlanta, I'd managed to walk several miles and hit a familiar-looking road. I was walking through a very impressive-looking neighbourhood, that had been well-looked after. Newly-built, newly-occupied and greatly lived in at that - I couldn't count the amount of houses, which meant there would be _alot_ of biters. There were lots of cars parked outside, on driveways and in open garages, but I had to resist the temptation of climbing into one and trying to start it up incase a car alarm went off. I could've gone into one of the houses, looked for the car keys and drove away but I didn't want to risk it. There could be hundreds of biters meters away just waiting for me to make myself known, and I was in no state to take down a hoarde of them. So, no car. But bicycle? That was perfect.


	40. Chapter 39

The bike looked like it belonged to an old woman. Either that, or one of those trendy teenagers who tried to bring back 80's clothes into fashion. It had a big old basket on the front of it that I happily put my bag in to take the weight off my back, and the brakes squeaked whenever I tried to stop. There were no gears so it would be crappy on different terrains, but I was ecstatic with my find regardless. I sat on it, struggling to hold my shovel while pedalling but managing only just by balancing it on top of the basket and holding onto it. I rode one-handed, and smiled at the thought of me casually cycling towards a big, heavy wall built by hunky Atlanta military men, who would welcome me with chocolate, hugs and a hot cup of coffee.

It was a hot day and the sun was glaring down at me from above, causing me to sweat and crave a drink. Normally in this type of weather, I'd meet up with the girls and we'd have a glass of Pimms, but that luxury was out of the question. I needed some water or something to quench my thirst, and hitting a store would be my best chance of finding something decent. I stopped to pull off my shirt and then continued to ride, ignoring the fact I was now half-naked and just embracing the breeze that blew past me as I rode faster. I saw a sign that said "Gas - 10 miles" and couldn't tell whether to be happy or sad. Those signs only appear on long roads, and I was on a bicycle sweating one out. I started to regret my decision of not attempting to get a car, especially when I had to stop to pick up my shovel from the ground after it fell off for the fifth time. How I wished I was small enough to ride on one of Daryl's arrows - he could shoot me down the road and I'd be there in no time. Yeah, he would be handy to have around.


	41. Chapter 40 (ATLANTA)

Atlanta. God-damn, wretched, disease-infected Atlanta. Waste-of time, waste-of effort, disappointing Atlanta. The Atlanta I almost killed myself trying to get to. The Atlanta I spent what, a week, trying to get to? By myself, with next-to-nothing, all for a crappy city full of dead people? Hah! Really God? Your really want to push me this far? The human race is dying out and you are genuinely making me want to die. I hope you're happy. Sure, people fucked the planet up and that's a punishable thing but this, this is evil.


	42. Chapter 41

So, Atlanta was a bust, as you can probably tell from my previous post. But I'm still here, I'm still alive, and I have some weird news. While leaving Atlanta with suprisingly all of my limbs and a relatively small group of biters following me, I saw in the distance a group of tents and an old RV. They were situated in the woods, a way out from the city and quite high up, and my mind exploded with ideas and thoughts about whether people were up there or not. The signs leaving Atlanta had changed since I'd first arrived there; they now warned people away from the city. That just goes to show that people are alive and want to help. Now, all I need is to find these people, and hope they're okay and welcoming. Hey, if I'm lucky, they might be the hot military guys that attempted to save Atlanta. Or it could be Drew or Andy, or Jackson, though I doubt they'll have come near Atlanta. Whoever it is, I'll be checking them out soon.


	43. Chapter 42

It didn't take long to build up the courage to go see who was settling up in the woods. I was sick to death of being alone and I needed company, so I rushed to the oppurtunity of meeting new people. I wanted to be discrete in introducing myself, but I didn't want to seem threatening either. I wanted to see what it was like up there before walking straight into what could be a camp full of biters, so I decided to take the bike up to the woods, hide it and make my way through the trees until I got a good view of what was going on.

It seemed I'd got there just in time. As I found a hiding place in the bushes, I heard a powerful engine roar in the distance and quickly make it's way to the camp. I saw a bright red car and a man of Korean origin walked out, beaming at his vehicle. He was approached by an old man and a few other people, who seemed to be asking him about the car. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the old man said something that made the Korean guy's face drop, and then he walked away.

I remained in the bushes for a long while, and contemplated getting up to leave when I heard another engine pull up. I looked again and saw a big white truck that looked like it would be used on a builder's yard or to maybe move houses. Out of it came a load of people, and members of the camp I'd not seen before ran towards them happily - some even began crying. I watched as a mother turned to her son and said something to him, and how the kid's face lit up as he saw a sheriff hop out of the truck. The mother's face dropped - it was as if she'd been shot. The sheriff ran towards his son and wife and my reality-show cut short as I heard footsteps behind me. I gulped. Time up.


	44. Chapter 43

The footsteps were of a majestic deer, trotting it's way through the forest trying to find something to eat. As I turned to look at it, it froze and started at me. We stayed there for a while, just looking at each other. My heart was beating so much I could feel it in my throat, and I just knew something was about to go wrong. I'd never seen a deer in the wild before, and seeing it in the middle of a zombie apocalypse was so unlikely I knew it was gonna end in a few seconds. And I was right - it looked behind it and saw a biter limping towards it. And just like that, it sprinted off, leaving me behind and the biter distracted. It ambled off, trying to follow the deer, and I knew before long it would catch up to it.


	45. Chapter 44

After the deer and biter were well and truly gone, I turned back to watch the camp group and see what they were doing. It was an impressively sized group with people of all ages and builds, and it was interesting to watch how they were coping. The sheriff's boy was clinging on to him like a monkey, and who I assumed to be his wife was putting on a fake smile while exchanging glances with another man. The korean boy was happy to have the family reunited, but was still greiving for the loss of his sports car. An old man and a few others got to work stripping the car, and the rest of the group congregated around their tents and the RV - all of them looked happy to be together. I felt happy for them, but then I realised I was just sat on the outskirts, watching in like a fly on the wall. I felt dirty for spying on them, but I wasn't brave enough to introduce myself to them all, not yet. The only company I felt comfortable with was a deer and biter, and that was just silly. I wondered where the deer had gone, if it had made it, and decided to go and look for it.


	46. Chapter 45

I found the deer on the floor, dead as could be. A biter was crouching over it, and I heard children in the distance. Oh god. Oh god. What should I do? Kill it so it doesn't hurt them? But then they'd see me and tell ther parents about the strange woman in the woods. They might mistake me for a biter, too - I surely didn't look my best, all covered in dirt and blood and wearing ripped clothes. I didn't want the people to know I was here, not until I had a way to prove to them I was a decent person that just wanted help, not to steal from them.

But before I got a chance to make up my mind, the kids were already coming through the bushes. I crouched down and hid behind a tree, hiding from them but watching them to make sure nothing bad was going on. The biter noticed the kids were there but continued eating the deer, too occupied with it's first meal to care about the next. The children saw the biter and squealed, running back in the direction they came.  
"It happened again! We saw one!" they yelled towards the adults.  
'Shit', I thought. 'They're gonna see me and think I deliberately let their kids near the biter. Oh god. Oh god.'  
I didn't know what to do. I was hidden behind the tree but I couldn't be sure that they wouldn't see me. I crawled up into a ball, burying my face into my knees and clutching onto my legs. I was fed up. I was scared. I was pissed off with how I'd handled the situation in the first place and now I was gonna suffer. I could hear more shouting from the distance, this time deeper voices. I lifted up my head and peered over to the biter, hiding my face as much as I could. There were a few people there, mostly men but two women. Mostly men, but one of them, being Daryl.


	47. Chapter 46

"That was my deer!" he exclaimed, kicking the biter off. The others dealt with it while Daryl mourned his hunt.  
"I'd been tracking that for miles." he sighed. He pulled an arrow out of it, cleaned the blood off of it and then looked at the deer again. Two women retched as they watched the men beat the biter to death.  
"D'you think we could just cut around it?"  
"I wouldn't risk it." The Sheriff said, not really caring about the loss of the meat.  
'Hmmph,' I thought to myself. 'He's obviously not a big venison fan. But he'll have to be soon.' My stomach growled, and I hit my head against the tree. I was sure they'd heard.

I watched as Daryl's eyes flicked over to the tree I was hiding behind. I bit my lip and held my breath, but he looked away. He was the only one to have noticed any movement, and that was more than lucky. If anyone was going to find me out, I wanted it to be Daryl. And what a coincidence he was here! Where was Merle? Maybe they'd gone to Atlanta and got caught up, and Darly only just escaped with his life..  
I shut my mind off and concentrated on the men and women surrounding the deer, not feet away from my hiding spot. They talked for a while, glared at the biter and then walked back off to their camp, Daryl following at the back of the group. I sighed with relief, realising I'd got away with it, when I suddenly got cramp in my foot and stretched out my leg as quietly as I could. My foot got caught in the leaves and Daryl's ears pricked up to the sound. He paced towards the tree, crossbow at the ready.  
'Here we go..' I thought to myself.


	48. Chapter 47

"What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed, not dropping his crossbow. "How are you still alive? How did you get here?"  
I laughed to myself, unable to answer the question. What was I gonna say, 'I took a little stroll into town and rode a bike the rest of the way?'  
"Answer me or I'll tell everyone that you're here, spying on us all!" he said, his once-steady shot wavering. I watched as he trembled.  
"Where's Merle?" I asked, ignoring his questions. I was scared as much as he was, but I wanted to play it cool.  
"I don't know yet. He went with the others to Atlanta, should'a come back in that car with the asian boy. He probably took off when they all got here."  
"So if he's not here right now, why are you trying to act all tough?" I laughed. I couldn't help it, I was being rude again but I just thought his act was so pathetic at times.  
"You gotta be now, 'aint ya? Zombies running round the place and whatnot." he explained, finally lowering his crossbow.  
"I guess so. Say, you haven't got any space in camp for me have you? It looks like a nice little set-up, and I've been on my own for quite a while now. You can only get so far with a bicycle and a shovel before you get got."  
"I wouldn't know. Not my place to ask. But why d'you wanna stay here anyway? We're all strangers, 'cept me and Merle. And even we aint the nicest of people to stick around with."  
"Better than nothing." I shrugged. He didn't understand - I _really_ wanted to stay, I just didn't know how to make it happen and wasn't brave enough to sort it out myself.

"Look darlin', you seem to have managed up until now. If you come into this group, you're gonna need to help us out. And we got a couple of folks here that um, they're gonna want some _specific_ help. Merle included."  
"I'm a big girl, I can stand up for myself."  
"I can see. So why don't you stand up for yourself somewhere else huh?"  
"What is your problem?" I was getting angry. "Why don't you want me here?"  
"Because it's weird! It's crazy! How have you even manged? You're just one of those pretty girls who got lucky in life and now you're even luckier after life's gone!"  
I glared at him. He'd made it clear - I wasn't welcome here. And even if I was welcome here, he wouldn't let me be here.  
"Get lost." he said to me, turning to walk away. I glared at him until he was gone, and then continued to glare at him even after he'd left. I was alone. Again.


	49. Chapter 48

I didn't know what Daryl's problem with me was, and why he was being so harsh towards me. It's not like I couldn't help out with stuff; I wasn't useless and I'd proved that by managing to stay alive all this time practically by myself. Sure, I was always hungry, dirty and tired but that could change if I was accepted into a decent home. By not inviting me into his camp, he was practically killing me, I was sure of it. It wouldn't be long until I couldn't last much longer and after being rejected, I was ready to give up.

After he'd walked away, I stared at the ground for a while, well and truly fed up. I couldn't remember where I'd left my bike, and my shovel felt like it weighed a tonne. As I got up to leave, I dragged it behind me and left a trail through the leaves on the forest floor. After spending an hour trying and failing to find it, I threw myself down again. It was starting to get dark again and, although I'd lost all concept of time, I knew it was getting late and cold. I was hungry and thirsty - so much so that my stomach growled and throat scratched. The only food I had left was the tin of dog food I'd scavenged what seemed like a month ago. I'd been putting off eating it but it was my last resort as everything else I'd found was eaten on the journey to Atlanta.

I didn't want to look at it as I ate it. I closed my eyes, picked it up and threw it in my mouth, chewing it as fast as I could and getting rid of it within minutes. It was slimey, disgusting and full of grissle but still the most substantial meal I'd had in weeks. I wondered what the camp were having for dinner. Something warm, probably. Something a bit better than dog food. But I had no way of finding out, as I wasn't one of them.


	50. Chapter 49

After spending a night covered in leaves and mud, shuddering in the cold and lifting my shovel to every noise I heard in the darkness, I was ready to leave. What little sleep made me feel a little more refreshed than earlier so I decided to set off and find a home somewhere away from Atlanta. I'd always felt better in the mornings, no matter what crap had gone on the day before. Sure, when it got to noon and I realised how depressed I was again I'd be fed up and do nothing, but in the mornings it just felt like a new day. I was determined to make use of my 'good' attitude and started my search for the bike again. I had to make sure I was quiet so no biter or person could hear me, which slowed down the search a hell of a lot. Dry leaves are very loud when stepped on, just to let you know.

With my backpack in the basket, the shovel resting on top and the bike now ready for action, I left swiftly. I wanted to be as far away from Atlanta as possible, because the amount of biters there was terrifying. Sure, I wanted to be close to people but it was obvious I wasn't gonna have a chance there with the others. I was just gonna have to find some _new_ people, or somehow miraculously find my way back to the bastards that abandoned me. Hah, likely.  
After cycling for about an hour I found a lake, surrounded by trees and rocks. I was past caring about dirty water and threw myself into it, glad to have cooled down. I drank from it and swam for a while, but then stopped so I didn't wear myself out. I had a lot of distance to cover and I didn't wanna waste time paddling.

After recovering from my little swim, I rode the bike another mile or two and came across some a remote house. It wasn't like one of the big country ones I'd seen before, but it truly was in the middle of nowhere. Although it wasn't too big, there was a lot of land behind it and a field that looked like it would have held horses. I checked the coast was clear from biters and peered into the window of the house. There were flies buzzing around and landing on the glass of the window and there was something written on the wall, but I couldn't quite make out what it said. All I saw was that it was written in blood, and after realising that, I didn't want to stick around to find out.


	51. Chapter 50

I kept riding, trying to block out what I'd just seen in my mind, but my stupid imagination was going wild. I could understand why, in times as awful as these, somebody would want to take their life but why in such a gruesome way? Or perhaps someone had murdered them? But I can't see murder being as vicious as before, now I can just see murder being for survival. If you kill someone so you can live, surely you don't want to smear their guts on the wall?

I tried to ignore the tears welling in my eyes. It was stupid, I was surrounded by death all the time and now I was crying about one person. I tried to wipe the tear as it rolled down my cheek but I lost balance and the shovel fell off the bike, me following afterwards. I tumbled onto the ground and my jeans ripped, causing my knees to scrape across the floor and start to bleed. I sobbed and picked the mud out of my wounds, and then realised somebody was approaching me. It was a little girl shuffling torwards me, arms outstretched and jaw snapping. I tried to get up and raise my shovel but I couldn't - I couldn't bring myself to kill a kid, not after what I'd just seen. I let myself fall back to the floor and I counted the seconds it took for her to reach me.

_One, two, three, four_. She'd gotten so close I could smell her. I could see her muddy coloured veins in her pale skin, and I could see how her flesh had cracked and crusted around her bite wounds. Her arm, neck and ribs were gaping open, and it was a wonder how she'd gotten away before she'd well and truly been made a meal. _Five, six, seven_. She was closer now. I could see the nail marks that had been dug into her cheeks. Her eyes were bloodshot. I could hear the low-pitched snarl emminating from her mouth.  
_Eight, nine._ She was towering over me now, grabbing out at my shoulders and grasping on anything she could get. She got hold of my hair and I squealed. Without thinking, I lifted up the shovel and it hit her square in the jaw, breaking it in two. It sent her back and she fell, hitting her head on the floor. I stood up and lookd at her struggling to get back up, like a turtle stuck on it's shell. I closed my eyes and brough the shovel down on her face, just as she grabbed my ankle. _Ten._


End file.
